SAN JOSE — The 14-year-old boy and his 47-year-old mother killed by a wrong-way driver Monday on Highway 85 were avid world travelers, beloved family members and 12-year residents of San Jose, according to the boy’s father.
The pair was identified by the Santa Clara Coroner’s Office as mother Rebecca Joanne Olsen and son Charles “Charlie” George Olsen.
Rebecca was originally from Australia, and Charlie was born in the United Kingdom, Charlie’s father Cameron Olsen said in a social media post Thursday. Cameron declined to be interviewed when contacted by the Bay Area News Group but confirmed that the Reddit post was his.
Charlie had recently started his freshman year at Summit Tahoma High School, where he jumped ahead a year in math and Spanish classes and was acing his history exams, his father said. He was a gifted child who “took immense pride” in his knowledge of history and politics and had taught himself Arabic at five years old.
“He was very, very unique (and yes, I know most parents say that),” Cameron wrote in his statement. “He was my best friend, my travel buddy and the only person I ever truly felt at home with.”
Charlie was an avid world traveler and had visited more than 30 countries with his family, including Russia, Azerbaijan, Lebanon and Syria, Cameron said.
Last year, Charlie and Rebecca took “a trip of a lifetime” to Antarctica, he added. Just last month, Charlie visited Europe with his dad, where he woke up early so he could watch the results of the United Kingdom’s election come in.
Rebecca and Charlie were traveling on Highway 85 around 3:40 p.m. Monday when a 2024 Toyota Tacoma driving the wrong way collided with their vehicle, killing them both, authorities said.
The California Highway Patrol said they had received reports of the vehicle traveling in the wrong direction on the highway before the collision occurred. The driver of the truck was identified as a 39-year-old man from Orlando, Florida; he was transported to the hospital with major injuries.
Authorities did not respond to questions about the man’s medical status or whether they intended to arrest or charge him in the crash.
