Man killed in Christmas Eve traffic accident on Hwy. 101 is identified
Connor Wiens, 29, of Arroyo Grande has been identified by the CHP as the man killed in a Christmas Eve crash in San Luis Obispo.
Wiens was driving a 2015 Honda Civic at 9:40 p.m. Dec. 24 when he was hit by traffic on Highway 101 in San Luis Obispo after being thrown from his vehicle, which was disabled after it was hit by another car.
The accident occurred on southbound Highway 101 near the Los Osos Valley Road off-ramp. Wiens had just been involved in an unrelated rear-end collision with a Chevy Tahoe, the CHP said. That accident disabled his Honda, which came to rest perpendicular to traffic and partially in the left lane of the freeway.
Constance Hice, 20, of McFarland, driving a 2006 Toyota Matrix, was unable to avoid the Honda Civic and hit the left rear of the vehicle, which caused Wiens to be thrown from the vehicle and into the roadway, where he was hit by an unknown number of vehicles and killed, the CHP said.
Hice then collided with a 1999 Toyota 4Runner, whose driver and two passengers, all from Grover Beach, had previously pulled over into the center divider to call 911 when they spotted the disabled Honda Civic. Hice and the three people in the Toyota 4Runner were unhurt, the CHP said.
The CHP has identified the driver of the 4Runner as John Stenger, 57. The two passengers are identified as Elizabeth Stenger, 51, and Kelly Stenger, 18.
A fourth car, a 2007 Honda Accord driven by Ry Beardsley, 38, of San Luis Obispo, was also involved in the incident. Beardsley’s car was southbound in the fast lane of Highway 101 when it approached the scene of the crashes.
Beardsley swerved to the left and into the center median to avoid the disabled Civic. His car struck various pieces of debris from the previous collision, causing major damage. Beardsley was not hurt.
No information on the first accident involving the Chevy Tahoe was available from the CHP on Monday.
David Sneed: 805-781-7930, @davidsneedSLO
This story was originally published December 28, 2015 at 4:39 PM with the headline "Man killed in Christmas Eve traffic accident on Hwy. 101 is identified."