SANTA CRUZ — Authorities have identified a 22-year-old pedestrian killed in a DUI crash last week on Mission Street.
Cody Stark-McCollum, of Santa Cruz, was reportedly in the street around 3:30 a.m. July 3 near Laurel Street when he was struck by a passing car. Driver Arthur Tessaro, 61, of Santa Cruz, later was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving.
The driver allegedly was headed southbound on Mission Street at the time of the crash. Stark-McCollum was taken to a trauma center, where he died despite life-saving efforts. Stark-McCollum was identified this week by the coroner division of the Santa Cruz County Sheriff’s Office.
Stark-McCollum recently attended UC Santa Cruz as an undergraduate to study biology and worked locally in the medical field, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Although a criminal pre-filing is listed against Tessaro in Santa Cruz County Superior Court records, formal charges were not yet listed Wednesday. Tessaro, who bailed out of jail custody, is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment on his bond July 17.