Driver found dead in Highway 17 wreck could have been there for days

SCOTTS VALLEY — A man was found dead in his wrecked car along Highway 17, and the California Highway Patrol said he might have been there for several days.

The wreckage of a red 1990 Mazda Miata was reported around 3:35 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26, off the highway’s southbound lanes south of Vine Hill Road, near Scotts Valley. One person was found dead in the car.

The man was identified as Robert William Richards, 60, of Moss Landing. He had been reported missing on Thursday, Jan. 22, and the CHP said the crash might have happened as early as the previous day.

It is believed that Richards was southbound on Highway 17 when his car went off the roadway and down an embankment and crashed into a tree on the road’s west side, a CHP press release said.

As a result of the crash, the man sustained major injuries, the CHP said.

It is unknown if alcohol or drugs were factors in the crash, according to the release. Anyone with potentially helpful information is asked to call CHP dispatch at 831-796-2160.