Coroner identifies Grover Beach man killed in head-on crash

The San Luis Obispo County coroner's office has identified the man killed in last week's wrong-way crash on the Cuesta Grade as 55-year-old Grover Beach resident Cezar Roy, according to a report by CalCoastNews. Roy was a passenger in a black Dodge Charger driven by a pregnant Atascadero woman when the two vehicles collided head-on on northbound Highway 101 the night of Aug. 26.

The crash, one of the most serious to hit the winding corridor between San Luis Obispo and the North County in recent memory, also killed the Atascadero woman's unborn baby, CalCoastNews reported. Paramedics pronounced Roy dead at the scene.

What happened on the Cuesta Grade

According to CalCoastNews, David Worthington Ross was driving a white GMC Canyon truck southbound in the northbound lanes of Highway 101 on the night of Aug. 26. He is alleged to have been under the influence of alcohol and possibly drugs at the time. The truck struck the pregnant woman's Charger head-on, and three other vehicles subsequently crashed into both the truck and the Charger.

Emergency responders transported Ross and the Atascadero woman to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, where both were treated for major injuries, the outlet reported. The full extent of their current conditions has not been publicly detailed.

The identification of Roy by the coroner's office comes days after the crash, following the standard process by which next of kin are notified before a deceased person's name is released to the public.

A potential second-degree murder charge

Perhaps the most significant legal development flagged in the CalCoastNews report: because Ross has a prior DUI conviction, he could face a second-degree murder charge in connection with the fatal crash.

Under California law, prosecutors can pursue second-degree murder — rather than the more common gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated charge — when a driver with a previous DUI conviction again drives impaired and kills someone. The theory rests on what courts have called "implied malice": a prior DUI conviction, typically accompanied by court-ordered warnings about the dangers of driving under the influence, is treated as evidence the driver knew the lethal risk and chose to drive anyway.

Whether the San Luis Obispo County District Attorney's Office files a murder charge in this case remains to be seen. Charging decisions in fatal DUI crashes often take weeks, pending toxicology results and a completed investigation by the California Highway Patrol, which typically handles collisions on Highway 101. Officials have not announced a scheduled arraignment date, and no charges had been publicly confirmed as of the coroner's identification.

Why the Cuesta Grade keeps drawing attention

The Cuesta Grade — the steep, curving stretch of Highway 101 that climbs out of San Luis Obispo toward Santa Margarita — has long been one of the county's most notorious trouble spots for wrong-way drivers and high-speed collisions. The grade's sweeping curves, limited sightlines and multiple ramps have historically made it difficult for impaired or disoriented drivers to recognize they've entered a freeway from the wrong direction.

The stretch also carries heavy commuter and freight traffic connecting San Luis Obispo to Atascadero, Paso Robles and the rest of North County, which means crashes there frequently snarl traffic in both directions and draw mutual-aid responses from fire and ambulance crews on both sides of the summit. Readers who commute between the city and North County are well acquainted with the grade's hazards, particularly at night.

Caltrans has periodically added signage, reflectors and ramp improvements aimed at deterring wrong-way entries on Central Coast freeways, but impaired drivers remain the persistent factor in the deadliest incidents.

What's next

For the family of Cezar Roy, the coroner's identification marks the beginning of a formal grieving process that now intersects with the criminal justice system. The Atascadero woman, meanwhile, is recovering from major injuries and the loss of her unborn child — a harm that carries its own legal weight in California, where a person can be charged for the death of a fetus under state murder and manslaughter statutes.

Residents can expect the case to move slowly through the courts. If the District Attorney's Office does pursue a second-degree murder charge, the case would represent one of the more serious DUI prosecutions in San Luis Obispo County in recent years, and proceedings would likely draw sustained public attention given the number of victims involved.

805.life will continue to follow this story as charging decisions and court dates are announced. Anyone with information about the Aug. 26 crash is typically directed to the California Highway Patrol's San Luis Obispo office.

This article is based on reporting by [CalCoastNews](https://calcoastnews.com/2026/09/coroner-identifies-grover-beach-man-killed-in-head-on-crash/). The San Luis Obispo County coroner's office, the CHP and the District Attorney's Office have not yet released additional public statements.