DRietz
04-20-2012, 10:42 PM
http://www.kionrightnow.com/story/17589899/chp-units-responding-to-vehicle-rollover-on-highway-101-in-king-city
"KING CITY, Calif. - One man is dead after a rollover accident on Highway 101 Thursday afternoon. It left the highway at a standstill, after a car rolled 50 feet down an embankment. California Highway Patrol is looking into whether drugs played a role.
A rollover crash changed three young people's lives in a blink of an eye.
"It's very sad for the people involved," says California Highway Patrol Officer Octavio Murillo.
CHP described the three men to be in their late teens, early 20's.
They were traveling in a silver car, northbound on Highway 101 near underwood road.
Around 5 p.m., the driver veered into the center divide, lost control and went 50 feet down an embankment.
The car rolled over several times, before it landed on its roof.
Miguel Silva was working in the fields, when it happened.
"The car spun out," says Silva. "When it came to a rest, I saw one person was ejected. Two other people were left inside the car."
CHP said, firefighters had cut the car doors open to rescue the two people trapped. CHP shut down both north and southbound lanes of Highway 101, so helicopters could fly the victims out to Bay Area hospitals.
One man died at the scene. The closure backed up traffic for miles. Domingo Sanchez was among those stuck.
"It's a terrible accident," says Sanchez. "I can see the spare tire in the middle of the fields. I can see it in the lettuce."
CHP said, the three men are from the Bay Area, including Oakland and San Leandro. While the cause of the crash is still under investigation, CHP is paying close attention to speed and drugs found among the victims belongings.
CHP found less than an ounce of marijuana. They also found a medical marijuana card. It's not clear if the driver was under the influence, but they're looking into it.
CHP didn't release the victims names until they talk with their families. Toxicology results from the driver could take months."
This incident hits very close to home as all three in the car were alumni of my high school, Bishop O'Dowd in Oakland, CA. While I don't want to name names, one lived in my city, San Leandro, and the driver had a sister that was very close to my brother. I briefly knew the third - he was a varsity lacrosse captain the year of his graduation, but now he faces not being able to ever walk again from what we hear.
The overwhelming sense of sorrow from this event has captivated the entirety of our upper-class population - we all knew these guys, had classes with the driver, who is now deceased, and admired the two others on the field when they led practice.
They were all great guys, and so incredibly funny as a trio. I remember back to freshman biology when one of them was in my class (admittedly, as a sophomore) and figured out that our super strict teacher actually used to be a professional skateboarder, and a huge "go with the flow" sorta guy. It's these moments that I've been going back to for the last 24hours, and I think it's some of these moments that I'll never forget.
Sorry for the intensely off-topic information, but it's just such an overwhelming tragedy. We've all lost someone, and it's incidents like this that make me a more conscientious cyclist - the point at which I'm most vulnerable.
So everyone, enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend and whatever you end up doing...drive safe and ride safe.
"KING CITY, Calif. - One man is dead after a rollover accident on Highway 101 Thursday afternoon. It left the highway at a standstill, after a car rolled 50 feet down an embankment. California Highway Patrol is looking into whether drugs played a role.
A rollover crash changed three young people's lives in a blink of an eye.
"It's very sad for the people involved," says California Highway Patrol Officer Octavio Murillo.
CHP described the three men to be in their late teens, early 20's.
They were traveling in a silver car, northbound on Highway 101 near underwood road.
Around 5 p.m., the driver veered into the center divide, lost control and went 50 feet down an embankment.
The car rolled over several times, before it landed on its roof.
Miguel Silva was working in the fields, when it happened.
"The car spun out," says Silva. "When it came to a rest, I saw one person was ejected. Two other people were left inside the car."
CHP said, firefighters had cut the car doors open to rescue the two people trapped. CHP shut down both north and southbound lanes of Highway 101, so helicopters could fly the victims out to Bay Area hospitals.
One man died at the scene. The closure backed up traffic for miles. Domingo Sanchez was among those stuck.
"It's a terrible accident," says Sanchez. "I can see the spare tire in the middle of the fields. I can see it in the lettuce."
CHP said, the three men are from the Bay Area, including Oakland and San Leandro. While the cause of the crash is still under investigation, CHP is paying close attention to speed and drugs found among the victims belongings.
CHP found less than an ounce of marijuana. They also found a medical marijuana card. It's not clear if the driver was under the influence, but they're looking into it.
CHP didn't release the victims names until they talk with their families. Toxicology results from the driver could take months."
This incident hits very close to home as all three in the car were alumni of my high school, Bishop O'Dowd in Oakland, CA. While I don't want to name names, one lived in my city, San Leandro, and the driver had a sister that was very close to my brother. I briefly knew the third - he was a varsity lacrosse captain the year of his graduation, but now he faces not being able to ever walk again from what we hear.
The overwhelming sense of sorrow from this event has captivated the entirety of our upper-class population - we all knew these guys, had classes with the driver, who is now deceased, and admired the two others on the field when they led practice.
They were all great guys, and so incredibly funny as a trio. I remember back to freshman biology when one of them was in my class (admittedly, as a sophomore) and figured out that our super strict teacher actually used to be a professional skateboarder, and a huge "go with the flow" sorta guy. It's these moments that I've been going back to for the last 24hours, and I think it's some of these moments that I'll never forget.
Sorry for the intensely off-topic information, but it's just such an overwhelming tragedy. We've all lost someone, and it's incidents like this that make me a more conscientious cyclist - the point at which I'm most vulnerable.
So everyone, enjoy the beautiful weather this weekend and whatever you end up doing...drive safe and ride safe.