Two people arrested for fatal hit-and-run crash on Highway 1.

Authorities have arrested and charged two people in connection to a May hit-and-run incident on Highway 1 that left a Carmel man dead.

Nicholas Krenke, 32, and Jenny Lesch, 45, face criminal charges for a May 31 crash described by authorities as a “road rage incident,” the California Highway Patrol said in a press release Tuesday, Aug. 1.

The crash occurred at around 3:35pm on southbound Highway 1, just south of Highway 68 near Aguajito Road. According to CHP, Lesch’s vehicle caused 62-year-old James Howard Pack to lose control of his white Volkswagen van, which was subsequently struck by a second vehicle driven by Krenke. 

Pack’s van rolled over multiple times in the crash, which caused major delays on Highway 1 amid rush hour. Pack suffered fatal injuries and was transported to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Both Lesch and Krenke fled the scene after the incident. Authorities said Krenke, of Monterey, was booked into Monterey County Jail on July 18 on a felony hit-and-run charge. Lesch, of Carmel Valley, turned herself in to the Monterey Police Department on July 25 and faces manslaughter, hit-and-run, assault, and reckless driving charges.

The Monterey County District Attorney’s Office, which filed the charges, could not immediately be reached for comment.