Woman, 78, Dies in Crash on Soquel Drive

 By Bay City New Service

  A 78-year-old woman died in a solo vehicle crash in Santa Cruz County this afternoon, according to the California Highway Patrol.

  The incident was reported on Soquel Drive north of Freedom Boulevard in Aptos at 12:45 p.m., Officer Brad Sadek said.

  The woman, a Watsonville resident, was driving a 1998 Ford  Explorer traveling north on state Highway 1 and for unknown reasons swerved to the right, he said.

  Her vehicle then drove through a fence and into a parking lot where her car propelled into the air, Sadek said.

  The car then collided with a wooden retaining wall before coming to rest on a driveway at Soquel Drive, he said.

Emergency responders treated her at the scene and transported her to Dominican Hospital in Santa Cruz where she succumbed to her injuries, according to the CHP.

  No other vehicles were involved and the woman had no other passengers in her car, Sadek said.

  Alcohol does not appear to be factor in the crash and an investigation is ongoing.