Two pedestrians struck, one fatally, on Santa Cruz County highways

Two pedestrians were struck last week on Santa Cruz County highways, and one of them died of his injuries, the California Highway Patrol said.

The fatal crash occurred around 6:30 a.m. Thursday on Highway 1 in Aptos.

Yosef Cohen, 28, of Santa Cruz was reportedly on a southbound lane of the highway near Freedom Boulevard when he was hit by a Honda CRV. He died at the scene, the CHP said.

The Honda’s driver, a 56-year-old Aptos woman, was not injured.

Before the crash, callers to 911 had reported a shirtless man running in the middle of the two southbound lanes.

In the second crash, on Friday night, Salvadore Aguirre, 43, of Watsonville was hit by a bus on Highway 129 in Watsonville. The crash occurred at 9:48 p.m. in a westbound lane of the highway (Riverside Drive) west of Harvest Drive.

Aguirre suffered major injuries and was taken to a hospital. The driver remained on the scene after the crash.

The CHP did not specify the owner of the bus; it is of a type that’s in the Santa Cruz Metro fleet.