Highway 49 Four Car Wreck

Highway 49 Four Car Wreck

Four Car Wreck on Highway 49

A woman in a pickup truck caused a wreck with three other vehicles on Wednesday, September 13.

What Happened?

At about 8:00 a.m. on Highway 49, during heavy rush hour traffic, a woman driving a Chevrolet S10 pickup truck northbound was reportedly driving recklessly in and out of the surrounding, slower traffic. In a hasty attempt to pass another truck, the S10 pulled out of her lane and onto the right shoulder of the highway. After passing the other pickup, the woman darted back into the lane but failed to completely clear the vehicle she had just passed which clipped the rear corner of her vehicle and sent her spinning into the oncoming traffic. The small Chevrolet truck was then hit by two southbound vehicles that could not avoid the spinning truck.

The first vehicle to strike the spun-out truck was a silver Toyota Prius that collided full speed into the back of the truck bed. The Prius ricocheted off of the S10 and was found at the bottom of a 6-foot embankment on the side of the road. The collision also included a minivan that received damage to its front end.

Injuries Resulting from Accident

Several people were injured in the car accident. The woman who caused the accident was carrying an eight-year-old boy in the vehicle and both were transported by ambulance to the UC Davis Medical Center which is located in Sacramento. A helicopter was called and managed to land on the highway to take the two but was unused as rescuers decided to use standard ambulances.

The occupants of the Prius, ages 12 and 71, were unable to exit the vehicle and required extrication from rescuers. The doors needed to be removed with the hydraulic “Jaws of Life” tool in order to be free from the wrecked Toyota. There was significant damage to the driver’s side A-pillar which pushed in the dashboard towards the driver. The child was put into an ambulance and rushed to the Sierra Nevada Hospital for treatment.

Possible Injuries

Few details were released about the condition and injuries of the victims of this accident. We know that the injuries of the two individuals in the Chevrolet S10 were serious enough for first responders to call in a helicopter, but changed their minds for some reason and went with a normal ground ambulance. The Chevrolet was struck the hardest by the Prius in the back of the truck. If the S10 had a single, standard cab then the occupants could have hit the back window as the impact snapped their heads back causing head trauma. News articles report that the driver of the Chevrolet also received facial lacerations, most likely from broken glass or flying debris. Both passengers are also likely to suffer from cervical sprains (whiplash).

The passengers of the Prius could be suffering from broken bones, severe hematoma, and/ or head injuries. The legs of the driver could also have ligament tears or damage to the ankles from the deformation of the foot-wells and dashboard.

The driver of the minivan reported having knee pain to the California Highway Patrol officers but opted out of an ambulance and arranged transport to medical treatment herself. She could be experiencing injuries known as a dashboard knee. Like the name implies, it comes from impacting the knee into the dashboard of the vehicle during an accident. Patellar (kneecap) fractures can occur with a hard enough impact. Ligament tears can also occur, especially the posterior cruciate ligament which anchors the femur to the tibia and provides back-and-forth stability along with the anterior cruciate ligament. Surgery is invasive and the recovery process is long for a PCL or ACL repair.

Related Articles by Auburn Car Accident Lawyer Ed Smith:

Auburn Car Accident Lawyer

I’m Ed Smith, an Auburn Car Accident Lawyer. If you or a loved one have been injured or suffered losses because of a reckless driver, please call me at (530) 392-9400 or (800) 404-5400 for free and friendly advice with no obligation. I have served the Auburn and Northern California community for years helping people deal with car accident, personal injury, and wrongful death cases. Please reach out if you need help recovering your losses and getting back on the road.

Look over my previous verdicts and settlements page on my website, AutoAccident.com to see the help I have given many other people through trying times. My website also has daily articles that report local accidents and have great information for those seeking legal help.

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Photo Credit: California Highways 49 and 89 by Sergey Yarmolyuk. CC BY-SA 3.0
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