Santa Cruz county teen sentenced in fatal crash that killed friend

A 19-year-old Scotts Valley man convicted of vehicular manslaughter was sentenced this week to 90 days of monitored house arrest after a car crash that claimed the life of his good friend.

SANTA CRUZ — A 19-year-old Scotts Valley man convicted of vehicular manslaughter was sentenced this week to 90 days of monitored house arrest after a car crash that claimed the life of his good friend.

More than a year ago, Owen Zeip was in a single-car crash that killed his passenger, 18-year-old Scotts Valley High School football star Carlton Keegan, just months before the two young men were scheduled to graduate. Zeip was charged early this year, after the California Highway Patrol completed its investigation and the Santa Cruz County District Attorney’s Office filed charges in the case.

On Wednesday, Zeip pleaded no contest to the misdemeanor charge — considered to be without malice or gross negligence — and was sentenced before Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Katherine Hansen. Zeip also faced an infraction for being a minor driving with a blood alcohol level at or above .01. For drivers younger than age 21, any amount of alcohol in the blood is considered unlawful, but speeding, rather than alcohol, was believed to be a major factor in the crash, Assistant District Attorney Alex Byers said of the CHP investigation.

In addition to court fines, a one-year loss of his driver’s license, temporary home confinement and a year-long prohibition on drinking alcohol, Zeip also was sentenced to serve 240 hours of community service, his attorney Mark Garver said. Zeip is expected to spend part of his community service hours speaking publically about the importance of road safety, Garver said.

Keegan’s family gathered for Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, where his mother gave a victim’s impact statement to the court and read a more personal message to Zeip himself, attorneys in the case said.

“After experiencing the pain of saying our final goodbye to Carlton, we immediately found you in the hospital. We hugged you and told you we loved and forgave you, that still remains true. I also told you to not let this define you, but there is more I did not add in my state of shock,” mom Leanne Keegan wrote as part of her statement, which she shared with the Sentinel. “We make choices in life and your choices that day were unfortunately fatal. But now your choice can be to not let the results of your decisions that day define you but let the way you choose to live and learn from them after define you.”

Carlton Keegan was one of four brothers and remembered by his peers for “having a big personality and heart” and being a “gentle giant,” his mother wrote.

Zeip also read a prepared statement of apology to the court.

“No words can truly express the profound grief and sorrow that they must feel every day knowing Carlton is gone. I feel the same grief and sorrow every day knowing that I can’t take back my actions, and I feel the weight of that every day,” Zeip wrote. “I can only hope that, in time, they may heal and might find solace despite their loss.”

Describing Keegan as “one of my best friends,” and “a good person down to the bone,” Zeip wrote that he wanted to “convey my heartfelt condolences to the Keegans,” according to a statement provided by his attorney.

Zeip also wrote that he was haunted by the decisions — and resulting consequences — that he made on the day of the crash. Zeip said he took full responsibility for his role in the accident.

According to the CHP, Zeip had been driving northbound around 2:30 p.m., March 30, 2022, in a white Subaru on Granite Creek Road, near Branciforte Drive. Byers said the two men had been hitting golf balls at the DeLaveaga Golf Course beforehand. During the drive, Zeip allowed his vehicle to veer off the road and down a dirt embankment, where the Subaru crashed into a tree along the shoulder.

Zeip suffered minor injuries, while Keegan died after receiving treatment at an area hospital, according to the CHP. Both men were said to be wearing their seat belts at the time of the crash.