Victim of fatal crash on Highway 85 identified – NBC Bay Area

A mother who died in a wrong-way driving accident on Highway 85 in San Jose on Monday was identified on Wednesday.

The Santa Clara County Coroner's Office identified her as 47-year-old Rebecca Joanne Olsen of San Jose. Her 14-year-old son was also killed in the accident. His identity has not yet been determined.

According to the California Highway Patrol, Olsen and her son died when they were struck head-on by a pickup truck driver traveling the wrong way on Highway 85 near Highway 87.

An email from Summit Tahoma High School in San Jose confirmed that the son was a freshman at the school and offered students help in dealing with the tragic news.

Olsen's colleague said she was working from home for a foreign company and had left work to pick up her son before the accident happened.

Authorities first received calls about a wrong-way driver on Highway 85 near Saratoga Avenue in Saratoga around 3:40 p.m. on Monday, the CHP said.

According to the CHP, the driver of a Toyota Tacoma was reportedly traveling at a high rate of speed in the northbound lanes of the southbound freeway.

The pickup truck later collided with a Tesla Model Y carrying Olsen and her son near the junction of Highway 87 and Santa Teresa Boulevard, the CHP said.

Olsen and her son died at the scene. The driver of the pickup, 39-year-old Duncan McQuarrie of Orlando, Florida, was taken to the hospital with serious injuries, according to the CHP.

As of Tuesday, he was still in the hospital and was being held pending possible charges.

“At this point, we are definitely looking at manslaughter charges in this accident,” said CHP Officer Ross Lee. “Additional charges may be filed as the investigation progresses.”

McQuarrie's criminal record shows, among other violations of the law, that he was charged earlier this year with driving without a license, cocaine possession in 2021 and drunken driving in 2013.

It was initially unclear whether drugs or alcohol played a role in Monday's accident.

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call the CHP at 408-961-0900.