The man killed in a Highway 17 crash Thursday had been wearing a seat belt, but still was partially ejected from his car, according to a CHP report released Sunday.

Daniel McGuire, 25, of Santa Cruz, died after a big rig plowed into the back of a line of northbound traffic. Nicole Annette Albaum, 37, of Royal Oaks in north Monterey County, suffered a lacerated liver in the crash, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The collision near Bear Creek Road closed most of Highway 17 for 10 hours Thursday.

McGuire's car was the fifth in a line of 10 vehicles struck. The impact of the collision partially ejected McGuire from his car, CHP Officer Ross Lee said. A preliminary investigation indicates the trailer of the semi slid over the top of McGuire's vehicle and rolled it underneath, Lee said.

Besides Albaum, six other people were transported to area hospitals with minor injuries. Among them were drivers of four cars in the crash and two passengers.

Drivers of three other cars were not reported as injured.

The driver of the semitrailer, Ravenderpal Singh, 23, of Union City, also was uninjured. He told reporters at the scene of the crash that his truck's brakes were smoking and ineffective. The truck was hauling two trailers filled with dirt.

"Our officers are still piecing together the sequence of events," Lee said, and haven't yet concluded what happened in the crash.
