Moss Landing, CA : 24-year-old man killed in head-on collision on Highway 1 in Monterey County on Monday, March 21, 2016

A head-on crash between Moss Landing and Castroville caused Highway 1 to be shut down for three hours on Monday.

A black Lexus SUV hit a silver Mazda sedan near Molera Road at 12:30 p.m., California Highway Patrol officers said. A 24-year-old Prunedale man died in the crash.

The CHP identified seven young women who were in the Lexus as: Lynnea Hernandez, 19, of Santa Cruz; Sarah Cameron, 19, of Santa Cruz; Lupe Velez, 19, of Santa Cruz; Sydney Beyer, 20, of Santa Cruz; as well as three college students visiting from Colorado on Spring Break.

The driver - Hernandez - is a University of California Santa Cruz student. UCSC students are also on Spring Break.

Hernandez told the CHP that she rolled down her window to toss a cigarette out, accidentally veered into oncoming traffic, and hit the Mazda. The driver admitted to speeding, according to the CHP.

CHP officers said they suspect that the Lexus driver was under the influence of marijuana, and one passenger hid a makeup bag full of marijuana and Ecstasy in a farm field.

"We got a call from a witness. She saw one passenger take something out of her purse and hide it in a field. We were able to locate a little makeup bag with marijuana inside," Loza said.

During questioning, almost everyone in the Lexus eventually admitted to using marijuana, and the driver said she had taken prescription mediation just minutes prior to the crash, according to the CHP.

The students were transported to Natividad Medical Center and a San Jose trauma center to be treated for injuries that range from critical to minor. The driver suffered a lacerated liver.

The Prunedale man's name was not released.

Southbound traffic was diverted at Dolan Road to Highway 156, and northbound traffic was diverted off Highway 1 onto Molera Road.

One driver told KSBW that it took her three and a half hours to drive from Salinas to Santa Cruz while navigating around detours and back roads.

Highway 1 reopened at 3:25 p.m., however, traffic remained slow into the evening rush-hour commute.

Source :
CHP: Passenger hid weed, ecstasy in field after deadly Highway 1 crash