GILROY
– A Gilroy woman was killed early Sunday morning when she drove
her truck into a dry creek bed near Santa Teresa Boulevard and
First Street, according to police.
GILROY – A Gilroy woman was killed early Sunday morning when she drove her truck into a dry creek bed near Santa Teresa Boulevard and First Street, according to police.
Patsy Marie Katen, 39, was pronounced dead on the scene at 3:40 a.m. Sunday when emergency workers responded to several 911 calls reporting a vehicle accident in the area.
Police do not think any other cars were involved in the accident that brought Katen’s Chevrolet pick-up truck to a stop in the creek just west of the Santa Teresa Bridge.
Katen was traveling alone at the time of the accident.
“We had a lot of calls saying they heard a loud accident, but I don’t think anybody actually witnessed (the accident),” Gilroy Police Department Capt. Debbie Moore said.
The Santa Clara County coroner’s office will not know the cause of death until later today, and toxicology reports for drugs and alcohol will not be complete for weeks.
According to police, Katen’s truck was traveling northbound on Santa Teresa approaching the Santa Teresa Bridge when the vehicle veered off the west side of the road 100 yards south of the bridge and drove into the creek. The vehicle was airborne and came to a rest about 50 yards north of the creek’s south bank.
The truck was totaled.
