SAN JOSE — A second driver has died from injuries suffered in a violent head-on crash last weekend that initially killed a San Jose woman after he veered into oncoming traffic on a Willow Glen street, and investigators now suspect he was drunk at the time, police said.
The fatal collision was reported around 2:35 p.m. Saturday when, according to San Jose police, a man driving a white 2018 GMC Yukon east on Foxworthy Avenue was approaching Jarvis Avenue and tried to pass a green 2018 Subaru Forester, but instead hit the Subaru.
That caused the GMC to travel into oncoming westbound traffic and crash head-on into a blue 2012 Honda CR-V.
The woman driving the Honda died at the scene; she has been identified by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office as 74-year-old Ellen Jo Orcutt. The coroner did not list a residence for her, but public records indicate she lived in San Jose about a mile east of the crash site.
Police said the GMC driver was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries and was listed in critical condition. He died from his injuries Wednesday, and has been identified by the coroner’s office as 81-year-old Los Gatos resident Christian Herbert Hygelund.
Also on Wednesday, police said an investigation found cause to believe that Hygelund was under the influence of alcohol when the fatal crash occurred.
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Orcutt was a community advocate who devoted herself to helping poor and unhoused people in the region, according to a GoFundMe fundraising page set up by her daughter.
“As I attempt to pick up the pieces, I am currently faced with the insurmountable task of honoring my mother who was truly cherished by all who knew her, in the best way I can,” the page reads. “She was a lifelong, humble servant of her lord and savior, and dedicated the majority of her life to families in need, and people experiencing homelessness in Santa Clara County.”
Orcutt’s daughter also wrote that contributions, after covering family expenses related to her death, will be donated to “charities, non-profit organizations and churches that were close to her heart. Just as she would have wanted.”
The crash now accounts for the city’s 31st and 32nd traffic deaths of the year. San Jose recorded 44 traffic deaths at the same point in 2024, according to data compiled by this news organization.
Anyone with information about Saturday’s collision can contact Detective Tori DelliCarpini with the SJPD traffic investigations unit at 408-277-4654 or by email at [email protected].
