It was a particularly dangerous weekend, south of San Francisco, in Monterey County. Five Californians were killed and four more suffered serious injuries in three separate accidents on Sunday. Several of the injured accident victims were transported to Bay Area hospitals to receive treatment for their injuries.
The first accident occurred at roughly 1:45 p.m. Law enforcement says a 41-year-old Watsonville man in a 1988 GMC Yukon was involved in a head-on car accident with a 2009 Chevrolet Cobalt driven by a 20-year-old man from Delano. Police say the GMC drifted into the oncoming lane of 183 and collided with the Cobalt. The Cobalt left the pavement and rolled over onto the driver’s side, coming to a rest in a farm field.
The driver of the Cobalt did not survive the crash and was pronounced dead at the scene according to the California Highway Patrol. The man in the GMC suffered major injuries in the tragic wreck. The injured man was taken to Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital after the wreck.
A second head-on collision occurred around 8:40 p.m. east of Salinas. A 35-year-old man in a 2004 Toyota Tacoma reportedly attempted to pass slower moving vehicles and crossed into the oncoming lane of traffic. The man’s Tacoma collided with a 1986 Toyota pickup truck driven by a 60-year-old San Benito man.
Both drivers died in the head-on car accident. A 32-year-old woman riding in the 2004 Tacoma sustained major injuries and was flown to a San Francisco area hospital for treatment. Two passengers in the 1986 pickup truck, a 9-year-old and an 18-year-old were airlifted to San Francisco hospitals with major injuries.
Roughly ten minutes after the second head-on collision, a 42-year-old riding a Harley Davidson ran off the road. The man attempted to pass other vehicles on the right and drove into the ditch. The driver and a 44-year-old female passenger were thrown from the Harley and died in the motorcycle accident, according to the CHP. Law enforcement continues to investigate all three accidents.
Source: Monterey Herald, “Deadly weekend for motorists: Five killed in separate accidents around the county,” Kevin Howe 28 Jun 2011
