Cal Poly student was drunk when she killed Los Osos man

July 19, 2019

Nicole Scalone

The Cal Poly student who drove the wrong way on Highway 101 last month, resulting in a crash that killed her and a sheriff’s office employee, had a blood alcohol level of three times the legal limit. [Tribune]

At about 2:30 a.m. on June 12, Nicole Scalone, 22, was driving the wrong way on Highway 101 near Higuera Street. Scalone’s Ford Fiesta crashed head-on into a Honda Civic being driven by Anthony Au, a 43-year-old cook for the sheriff’s office.

Both drivers were wearing seatbelts, yet they both died as a result of the injuries they suffered in the collision.

Investigators conducted a toxicology test, which revealed Scalone had a blood alcohol level of .24 at the time of the crash. A CHP spokesman said Scalone’s blood alcohol level was “over the top.”

Scalone was a senior business administration student from Bellevue, Washington, who was set to graduate just days following the fatal collision. Cal Poly awarded Scalone’s degree posthumously.

Au worked for the sheriff’s office for three years prior to his death. At the time of the collision, Au was driving to the sheriff’s Honor Farm, where he worked as a cook.


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I know it doesn’t really matter given this tragedy, but why was he on Hwy 101 on his way to work at the Honor Farm if he lived in Los Osos?

I would expect a Los Osos resident to go over South Bay Blvd. to Hwy 1 and then on to Kansas Ave. to get to the Honor Farm.

If her BAL was .24 how could she even walk, let alone drive anywhere?

And just where did she get so shitfaced? If it was at a bar, they’re in deep trouble. At .24, she had to be showing it long before she got behind the wheel


“And just where did she get so shitfaced? If it was at a bar, they’re in deep trouble.

At .24, she had to be showing it long before she got behind the wheel”


Excellent point, Niles. And, whether it was at a bar or at a private residence, she didn’t get that hammered all by herself. She was with other people, and because those other people allowed her to get behind the wheel, both she and Anthony Au are dead.


Again- “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.” Those other people who drank and partied with Nicole that night and then let her drive off to her death can by no stretch of anyone’s imagination be considered “friends” of Nicole, and they bear some of the responsibility for her death and the death of innocent father Anthony Au.


Those so-called “friends” know who they are, and I hope they are reading this. Now they have to live with that guilt for the rest of their lives. I hope it hurts.


So it will make you feel better knowing her friends feel guilty? Weird logic. Disturbing almost.


We have no choice but to have background checks and licensing for Alcohol purchases.

Laugh at me if you will, but how many Children have to die before we pass laws to stop this?

If you don’t support this, then you are in the pocket of Big Alcohol and need to be doxed.


No….sounds crazy? Well that’s interesting because if it’s crazy for Alcohol then why is it the smart people approach to guns? Alcohol kills more and disrupts far more lives than guns. Where are the Alcohol Control Groups?


Excellent point but most readers won’t “get it”, way over their heads.


A $20 Uber ride was the price for 2 lives.


Damn shame but the truth hurts dont it. Guess somebody would rather drive drunk based on the thumbs down.


She’s a murderer, yet she’s celebrated with a posthumous degree from Cal Poly. How inappropriate! At the same time we hear little about her victim — Mr. Anthony Au. A working man, on his way to another day on the job as a cook at the county jail.


May God be with you and your family, Mr. Au…


That’s a pretty heavy handed statement with much truth to it. My father went to Poly; we glamorize university regardless of many things, including rationale. Look at the admission scandal; our state included. Actions and thoughts to the families. Death of a loved one changes life forever. University is a haven for free , empathetic mamalia thought; and the devil.


Maybe his family wanted privacy. You people are disturbed.