California Injury Lawyer Blog

A crash in Nevada County Saturday morning left three people injured, the Union reported Monday. The June 5th accident occurred at about 10:45 a.m. on Highway 20 above Nevada City.

According to news reports, a 62-year-old Washington woman was driving westbound on Hwy 20 in a Hyundai Accent, when for unknown reasons, she lost control of her vehicle. The CHP reported that her car spun out into eastbound traffic, into the path of a Toyota Camry driven by a 77-year-old Penn Valley man. The driver of the Camry reportedly attempted to swerve but was unable to avoid the collision. The Hyundai went off the road and took down a street sign.

The driver of the Hyundai was airlifted to Sutter Roseville Medical Center with a traumatic brain injury and blunt force trauma to the chest. The driver of the Camry and his passenger, an 80-year-old Penn Valley woman, were taken to Sierra Nevada Memorial hospital with moderate injuries. We hope that all three of the victims make a full and fast recovery from their injuries.

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A 65-year-old Indiana woman was killed and six other people were injured, including two children in a crash on Highway 20 Friday afternoon. The April 9th crash involved a 2005 Dodge Caravan and a 2001 Ford Escape. According to reports in the Ukiah Daily Journal, Maria Prado, 47, of Clearlake was heading west in the Doge Caravan, west of Bartlett Springs Road, near Nice. Sarah Noguera, 33, of Ukiah, was driving the Ford Escape eastbound on Highway 20.

For unknown reasons, Prado's Caravan drifted off the roadway, up an embankment, and then back on the roadway and into the eastbound lane, hitting the Ford Escape head-on. The crash occurred near the Tulip Hill Winerl. Sandra Thomas, 65, of Noblesville, Indiana, who was riding in the backseat between a 4-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl, died at the scene of the crash.

The 4-year-old boy was flown to Oakland Children's Hospital, and the 5-year-old girl was taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport. Sarah Noguera, the childrens' mother and the front-seat passenger, James Thomas, 64, her father, both were flown to Santa Rosa Hospital with major injuries. Adonis Noguera, who was sitting in the cargo compartment of the SUV, suffered moderate injuries. Officers do not believe alcohol was a factor in the crash, but a CHP officer drove Maria Prado to St. Helena Clearlake Hospital as a precaution for minor injuries and to give a voluntary blood alcohol sample.

According to reports in the Lake County News, Jane Thomas and her husband were being driven to the Sacramento airport by their daughter when the crash occurred outside of Nice.

Fault & Liability Issues

If news reports of this accident are accurate, the driver of the Dodge Caravan likely caused this accident by allowing her westbound vehicle to drift into eastbound lanes. The CHP is investigating how fast the vehicles were travelling; it is not clear if either were speeding. While this Lake County accident remains under investigation, the families of all of the victims in the Ford Escape would be well-advised to consult with a California injury lawyer familiar with head-on collision crash liability and particularly, Highway 20 accidents. An attorney can help the injured victims protect their rights and hold the at-fault party financially responsible for their medical expenses, lost earnings, emotional pain and suffering, and the wrongful death of their loved one.

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Four people were injured, including one critically, in an intersection crash on Highway 20 in Penn Valley Wednesday, police reported. The crash occurred at Highway 20 and Rough and Ready Highway at about 7:45 a.m. March 31. According to reports in The Union, a newly licensed teenage driver in a Chevrolet pickup truck was trying to turn onto Rough and Ready Highway from the eastbound lane of Highway 20. She drove against a red light into the path of a westbound Toyota Corolla driven by a 56-year-old Colfax woman, Deborah Miller. The two vehicles collided almost head-on. It was not clear how fast the Corolla was travelling.

Miller suffered major injuries in the crash, including multiple compound bone fractures in her arm and elbow. She was flown by CHP helicopter to Sutter Roseville Medical Center. The teenage driver and two other teenage passengers were taken to Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital. All four people involved in the crash were fortunately wearing their seat belts.

A CHP officer said that the initial evidence pointed toward the teenage driver being at fault, but that no citations were issued and that the crash remained under investigation. If the teen is at fault in this March 31st Highway 20 accident, as it seems, the family of Deborah Miller should contact a California personal injury attorney as soon as possible. An experienced lawyer can help the woman protect her rights and ensure she is fairly and fully compensated for her serious injuries. In a free consultation, an attorney will be able to explain the liability issues and advise the family of their best course of action with the insurance company.

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A 41-year-old Lake County woman was killed and four other people were injured Saturday night in a crash on Highway 20, authorities reported. Both the CHP and the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection responded to the crash, which happened west of Marina Drive in Mendocino County. The February 6 crash occurred at about 11:15 p.m., and the highway was closed until nearly 2 a.m. Sunday morning.

According to reports in the Ukiah Daily Journal, a 1997 Ford van travelling west collided with a 2004 Chevy Silverado truck travelling east. The Ford was travelling an estimated 60 mph and the Chevy was travelling an estimated 50 mph. The CHP reported that the driver of the Ford, for reasons not known, drifted into eastbound lanes, colliding head-on with the Chevy. The woman driving the Ford, who was identified only as a resident of Lower Lake, died in the crash. Two passengers in the Ford, a 27-year-old Redwood Valley man and a 20-year-old Finley woman both suffered non-life-threatening injuries. The driver of the Chevy truck, a 45-year-old Williams man, and his 29-year-old passenger, were also injured.

Based on the news reports of the incident, the cause of the accident is not clear. Why did the driver of the Ford drift into eastbound traffic? In the course of their investigation, the CHP will speak to passengers and any witnesses, and determine what caused this crash, and if alcohol was a factor in the collision. While the cause of the head-on accident remains under investigation, both of the passengers in the Ford and the driver and passenger in the Chevy may benefit from a consultation with a California Highway 20 accident lawyer, to determine their rights to compensation for their injuries. The family of the woman killed in this crash may also have a claim for wrongful death, if the crash is deemed not her fault.

The Mendocino County Sheriff's Office has identified the victim of a fatal crash Wednesday morning on Highway 20 as Paul Brown, 49, of Lakeport. According to reports in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat and Lake County News, Brown was the driver and sole occupant of a Dodge Ram pickup truck travelling westbound on Highway 20, at the Russian River Bridge, east of Highway 101 in Redwood Valley. Brown lost control of his vehicle for unknown reasons and collided with a Ford F-550 utility truck at about 6:50 a.m. Brown died of his injuries at the scene shortly after the crash. The driver of the Ford, Edward Turberville, 33, of Santa Rosa, was taken to Ukiah Valley Medical Center and released. Officials reported both vehicles were travelling at about 50 mph when they collided head-on on the Russian River bridge. Both Brown and Turberville were wearing their seatbelts.

Highway 20 runs 211 miles from Highway 1 in Mendocino County to Interstate 80 in Placer County. Parts of Highway 20 are especially dangerous, and there have been numerous fatality and injury accidents on Highway 20 this year. On August 26, a truck driver suffered major injuries in a crash on Highway 20 in Nevada County. One person was killed and ten others were injured on July 4 on Highway 20 in Sutter County. In June, two passengers suffered major injuries in a solo vehicle crash on Highway 20, east of Walker Ridge in Lake County. A 19-year-old woman died in a head-on collision near the same location in Lake County on April 7.

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