Santa Cruz driver killed in head-on collision in Aptos – Santa Cruz Sentinel

DAY VALLEY – A 23-year-old Santa Cruz man and Harbor High School graduate who was involved in a head-on collision with another vehicle on Freedom Boulevard over the weekend has died.

The man was driving a white 1966 Chrysler Newport at about 7:30 a.m. Saturday, traveling westbound on Freedom Boulevard east of McDonald Road at an unknown speed, according to the California Highway Patrol. The Santa Cruz County Sheriff's and Coroner's Office identified the driver Monday as Luke Thomas Salem.

Salem attended the Harbor High School Pirates and played football for the Cabrillo College Seahawks. In a social media post Monday afternoon on a Cabrillo College football account, the account administrators mourned the loss of “one of our Hawk family members.”

“We already miss Luke's love, compassion and support for his teammates. His smile and kind soul will never be forgotten,” the post said on Monday. “If we all treated each other the way Luke treated us, the world would undoubtedly be a better place.”

For reasons still under investigation, according to the CHP, Salem collided with an oncoming 49-year-old man in a red 2017 Honda CRV, who was also traveling east on Freedom Boulevard at an undetermined speed.