Traffic Accident Leaves Family of Three Homeless and Without a Vehicle

A woman picks through the wreckage of her home after a traffic

A woman picks through the wreckage of her home after a traffic accident splintered their trailer and overturned their pickup. [Photo by Kym Kemp]

A family of three was left homeless and without a vehicle after their pickup pulling a fifth wheel trailer holding all their worldly goods jackknifed, went off Hwy 101 near the Hookton offramp and overturned about 8:12 p.m. The trailer shattered and its contents poured out onto the field.

Neither the man nor the woman nor their 19-month-old child was injured.

“Seatbelts and modern vehicles,” a California Highway Patrol officer explained had protected the three occupants even though the cab of their vehicle had collapsed and their fifth wheel trailer was in pieces.

The family was moving from Arizona to Washington for a new job and had packed everything into the pickup and trailer, explained Candi Green who had stopped to help after the accident. She has set up a GoFundMe account for those who would like to help the young couple.

“Thankfully they do have insurance but the immediate there is a need for immediate housing, food and clothing,” Green wrote on the fundraiser.

A daylight view of the accident

A daylight view of the accident from the GoFundMe account set up for the victims.

 

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41 Comments
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Ben Round
Guest
Ben Round
5 years ago

Trailers can be tricky if you aren’t used to pulling them!! Sorry they have suffered what many people pulling trailers have ALMOST had happen….. after the trailer starts weaving side to side at higher speeds! That’s scary.
Glad they have a new start somewhere to look forward to. Hopefully their employer will be understanding as needed.

Muddy Black Dodge
Guest
Muddy Black Dodge
5 years ago
Reply to  Ben Round

This was a fifth wheel trailer they don’t do that…

gunther
Guest
gunther
5 years ago

I’m glad no one got hurt. It looks a lot like an illegal marijuana camp now.

J Dubbs
Guest
J Dubbs
5 years ago
Reply to  gunther

Alright already, stop. Well, that’s kinda right. Wish them well though

Alt Right For Life
Guest
Alt Right For Life
5 years ago
Reply to  gunther

Right?

Blends in well with the area.

Poor people, with a baby too.

Maybe God doesn’t want them moving to Seattle and has better plans for them elsewhere?

3rd generation
Guest
3rd generation
5 years ago

Crash here, stay here. Lol

Antix
Guest
Antix
5 years ago
Reply to  gunther

I thought it was. Smh.

thebigdeal
Guest
thebigdeal
5 years ago

looks better than a lot of places in Alderpoint

Liz
Guest
Liz
5 years ago

I wonder if the uneveness of the highway’s road had anything to do with this.

Norcal_Coast
Guest
Norcal_Coast
5 years ago
Reply to  Liz

Literally millions of vehicles drive this section of road every year without incident, so statistics say NO.

Liz
Guest
Liz
5 years ago
Reply to  Norcal_Coast

Not all are pulling fifth wheels. And there are lots of accidents in this section of road.

Alicia
Guest
Alicia
5 years ago
Reply to  Liz

EXACTLY. Thank you.

Anon
Guest
Anon
5 years ago

It is a favorable long descent easy to go 80mph… But with a swerving trailer how scary!!!!

“Crash here stay here” haha funny . And true.

Note to all the dramatic complainers who claim near death experiences in our narrow rural roads : “Modern vehicles and seatbelts saved them.” Thankful our cars are designed to protect the real precious cargo inside .

Riobha
Guest
Riobha
5 years ago
Reply to  Anon

Have you ever had a trailer fishtail? It’s horrifying and very difficult to stop! Even if you have working trailer brakes, you have to take a hand off of the wheel to hit them…and, in that situation, who wants to let go of the wheel?
I speak from experience, and, we were only going 35mph when we rolled!

😞
Guest
😞
5 years ago

Too much weight plus that stretch of windy windy road= problem. I’ll be in go fund me to help soon. Sorry to hear this happened.

liv07
Guest
liv07
5 years ago

Are we sure it was a fifth wheel? More likely to happen with a bumper pull

Bushytails
Guest
Bushytails
5 years ago

Get a ride to u-haul, rent a box truck, load salvageable items into it, drive to washington as originally planned, staying at hotels when needed? What part of this involves deciding to stay in humboldt county and begging?

CoveTroll
Guest
CoveTroll
5 years ago
Reply to  Bushytails

Don’t stay in humboldt. The “green ghetto”. Get out while you can

Jeffersonian
Guest
Jeffersonian
5 years ago
Reply to  Bushytails

Good point. It’s also odd to take 101 north instead of I-5, it adds many hours of winding roads, you need to be a pro…

Daffy
Guest
Daffy
5 years ago

Someone I know witnessed the entire accident. The driver of the pickup/trailer was going so fast down the road, the trailer was fishtailing, then the pickup and trailer rolled over. That jackass driver is extraordinarily lucky he didn’t kill anyone else on the road (but apparently it was close for a couple of people). I wouldn’t contribute to their GoFundMe account…it’s their fault they wrecked.

dawni
Guest
dawni
5 years ago
Reply to  Daffy

Daffay – that was one of my first thoughts, “going a bit too fast.” Median speed limit on highways in AZ = 75 MPH! Not sure of they post different for towing. Lots of long flatish stretches. Easy to get going a bit fast down that particular downgrade to Hookton Rd.
Who’s to say they didn’t have a brake failure of other mechanical problem though?
I sure hope their Insurance takes good care of them and they had some good coverage.
Yes = good idea to load up a UHaul and keep on trekking. Especially if you have a job lined up. Arriving after a traumatic incident like this would tell one a lot about the community and employer where they decided to go.

Connie Dobbs
Guest
Connie Dobbs
5 years ago
Reply to  dawni

I’ve never towed a trailer: Cruise control operates as a governor on the downhills. It reduces the number of surprises when it’s time to exit.

Bushytails
Guest
Bushytails
5 years ago
Reply to  Daffy

Put on just the trailer brakes when that happens. Virtually all brake controllers have a manual button/lever for doing this.

Perspective
Guest
Perspective
5 years ago
Reply to  Bushytails

Exactly what that slide switch is for.

Anna Felix
Guest
Anna Felix
5 years ago
Reply to  Daffy

I am the driver. The mother and wife to the other two occupants. We were going exceptionally slow, cruise control set at 50 miles per hour. After a vehicle passed us closely, the trailer began to shift. Unfortunately, our trailer brakes weren’t responsive and the result was an accident that could have killed my family. Thanks to this wonderful community, we will be able to get to Washington as planned. We were humbled by Humboldt.

Lenore
Guest
Lenore
5 years ago
Reply to  Anna Felix

I’m very glad to here that you all will be able to make sorry about the bad luck with the brakes

Trucker Don
Guest
Trucker Don
5 years ago

Daffy duck better hope you never need help, just because someone who’s not used to pulling overloaded trailers down steep hills wound up going too fast because Everytime they tried to slowdown to fishtail got worse doesn’t make it their fault! They probably didn’t have working brakes on the trailer,and I’m guessing at that, ignorance is to blame, nothing more and nothing less! The only reason to not help someone in need is selfishness!!!

Veteran's friend
Guest
Veteran's friend
5 years ago
Reply to  Trucker Don

They got all the way here from Arizona. Plenty of windy roads betwixt here and there. They call them ACCIDENTS because they are not done on purpose. A little empathy is better for your soul than ridicule.

Guest
Guest
Guest
5 years ago
Reply to  Trucker Don

No one is required to critique the standards people make to donate or not. All that they should say is what they would do.

Hobo-joe
Guest
Hobo-joe
5 years ago

Inexperience when driving and Towing can certainly bite you in the ass, sometimes you get lucky and can pull out of it and learn a valuable lesson, sometimes you can’t and the lesson is still learned, and hopefully no one is hurt.

guest
Guest
guest
5 years ago

Let them, reap the seeds they have sown.bad decision to drive so recklessly.Hope they learn a lesson and I hope its not that Humboldt county will bail you out of a situation of your own demise.

Veteran's friend
Guest
Veteran's friend
5 years ago
Reply to  guest

I certainly hope you never have an accident, but if/when you do we will all come by to tell you it was your own damn fault & give you no sympathy at all😁

onlooker
Guest
onlooker
5 years ago

Gosh. All you mean-spirited, judgmental and trollish people have convinced me to donate to help these folks out. Go look at yourself in the mirror. You’re not somebody I’d be inclined to help and probably not too many folks who know you personally would, either.

Veteran's friend
Guest
Veteran's friend
5 years ago
Reply to  onlooker

Bless you

Harry1
Guest
Harry1
5 years ago

I see an accident that happened, long hours behind the wheel. Lots of harsh judgement going on here. Where and how does one donate to help this family?

M henson
Guest
M henson
5 years ago

I will help no matter what my number is 7074763174
I don’t have much but I’ll share what I have

Ben Round
Guest
Ben Round
5 years ago
Reply to  M henson

Nice gesture and positive role modeling, M Henson!

I like stars
Guest
I like stars
5 years ago
Reply to  Ben Round

Agreed. Impressed by M. Henson.

Grandma
Guest
Grandma
5 years ago

A lot of negative speculative judgement going on here. There are many reasons to come this way on the way to Washington from Arizona: less traffic, family to see, prettier drive, a little vacation while you are travelling.

As she said, her trailer brake did not respond. I saw that wreck yesterday morning at the bottom of the hill. Glad they were safe. And I’m glad people here will help strangers.