A Hollister woman stabbed her spouse Oct. 17 before recklessly driving the wrong way on a busy highway, left the scene of an accident before carjacking another victim, and continued to lead police up the valley to San Jose where she died after repeatedly stabbing herself with a knife, according to authorities.
The California Highway Patrol began receiving calls about 9:56am about a wrong-way driver on Highway 152 just east of the Highway 156 interchange, according to CHP Sgt. Robert Lehman. The driver, allegedly the same woman who had stabbed a male victim in Hollister, was driving a Chevrolet Cruze recklessly eastbound in the westbound lanes of 152.
The reckless driver collided head-on with another vehicle, causing the Chevrolet to overturn, Lehman said. The woman then carjacked a passerby who had stopped to check on the people involved in the crash.
She fled the scene, and the driver of the car she hit was transported to a nearby hospital, authorities said.
The woman drove toward Gilroy, where local police located her vehicle traveling on Monterey Road, Lehman said. Gilroy Police began to pursue the woman, but soon lost sight of her.
The reckless driver ended up in San Jose, where she exited the vehicle near the Highway 101 intersection with Highway 85. She walked across multiple lanes of traffic on both freeways before stopping on the southbound shoulder of Highway 101, Lehman said.
The woman then repeatedly stabbed herself in her shoulder with a knife. San Jose Police responded and located the woman, who was pronounced dead.
Lehman added there are “unconfirmed reports” that the woman vandalized other vehicles while she was walking across the highway in San Jose.
Anyone who thinks their vehicle was damaged by the suspect can call the CHP Hollister-Gilroy Area office at 408.427.0700.
