Nipomo driver arrested on murder charges following fatal crash near Avila Beach

AVILA BEACH, Calif. - A driver from Nipomo was arrested Friday following a fatal head-on collision near Avila Beach.

The crash happened around 3 p.m. in the area of San Luis Bay Drive and Apple Orchard Lane.

California Highway Patrol investigators said a 72-year-old man from Atascadero was driving a Mercedes van with his wife northbound on San Luis Bay Drive north of Avila Beach Drive.

At the same time, the 31-year-old Nipomo man was driving a Ford F-250 truck southbound on San Luis Bay Drive toward Avila Beach Drive.

Witnesses in the area told officers that, as the Nipomo man entered a curve in the roadway, he crossed his truck into the opposite lane directly into the path of the Mercedes.

Both vehicles collided head-on and sustained major front end damage.

The Atascadero man was pronounced dead at the scene and his wife was transported to Sierra Vista Medical Hospital with major injuries.

CHP officers conducting the investigation determined the Ford driver was under the influence of drugs at the time of the crash.

He was arrested and booked into the San Luis Obispo County Jail on murder charges.