[UPDATE 1:51 p.m.] Driver Receives Major Injuries When Van Plows Into Broken Down Truck on Hwy 101 North of Willits
After the van struck it, the pickup overturned and debris was flung across the roadway. [Both photos provided by a Mendocino County resident]
The driver of the truck was standing nearby when the collision occurred which threw the disabled vehicle forward striking its driver and causing major injuries.
California Highway Patrol Office Jonathan Clevenger wrote in an email the collision occurred around 10:40 p.m. between Willits and Laytonville south of Highway 101’s intersection with Underpass Road.
A Chevrolet truck was traveling northbound when it became disabled in the #2 lane. The driver and passenger exited the vehicle and while standing nearby, a Ford Transit van traveling in the same lane crashed into the disabled truck. Officer Clevenger wrote, “The force of the impact moved the Chevy forward where it struck the person who was previously driving the Chevy.”
The Ford Transit van had a crumpled front end and other damage after the crash.
The collision caused the truck to overturn, caused major damage to the van, and covered Highway 101 with disabled vehicles and debris blocking all four lanes. The aftermath required a temporary closure while crews cleaned up the scene.
The truck’s driver suffered major injuries while the van’s driver had minor injuries. Both were taken to a local hospital for care.
Officer Clevenger said, “This collision remains under investigation by the California Highway Patrol -Garberville Area.” Call (707) 932-6100 to share any information about the collision.
UPDATE 1:51 p.m.: California Patrol Officer Jonathan Clevenger asked us to clarify that there are no outstanding subjects from the collision or criminal charges being sought. After our article went live his office received several calls from the public offering information about the vehicles involved that had no bearing or consequence on CHP’s internal investigation.
Earlier: Crash Blocks All Four Lanes of Hwy 101 Between Willits and Laytonville
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The engineer who designed that Transit Van needs a promotion. Lots of damage and the occupants walked away.
Do doubt! Lucky that truck wasn’t lifted any higher or it could have came through the windshield
My dad was the one in the van he is also old so he got very lucky. This happening so close to Father’s Day is a shock. My family has been praying for the occupants in the truck.
Wishing your father a full and speedy recovery!
Always a good idea to get out of your vehicle if broken down.. turn flashers on, Get as far away as possible. They would have been dead if seated in their truck.
Flares are always a good idea if a person can carry them in their trunk also. Something I didn’t always think about but now carry with me.
True.. but I’d be hesitant to light a flare during fire season.
That is a concern.
There are now LED flashing flares available that serve the same purpose without the flame.
Good to know! Thank you for that information!
Carry under front seats in case you are stuck in vehicle and need to toss one out the window.
Hard to say. The cab provides some protection. It sounds like a person was in the front of the disabled vehicle, which could be worse.
A bad battery cable connection can kill your car and leave you with no flashers. Trucks have to carry a set of three fold out triangular reflectors that you can place way down the road from your stall. Man, first sign of trouble, try and get rolling off the highway. If the cars dead in the middle of the road at night it’s toast. Stay away.
Some cars wrecked in the ‘Bay right in front of me once, I had to ask a passerby to please go PRAY from the sidewalk. She rushed up to “lay hands” on the poor lady still in her car!
Trucks these days are so huge I’m not sure two people would have been enough to move it.
LET triangles or even reflective triangles collapse and store easy.
Heard good advice: keep flashers under driver seat and passenger front seats in case driver is trapped in vehicle and needs to throw out something as warning if their hazards aren’t working.
Why was the p/u broken ‘down’? Looks to have had its drive-train/suspension modified and using oversized wheels. Why was the p/u not on the shoulder or off to the side of the hwy. Were its hazard lights operating? Why was the van operated such that it couldn’t avoid the collision? Many questions to be answered.
Not sure about the rest but the truck was stopped on a blind corner. I was stopped comming home from work. I was wondering why he hadn’t pulled off to the side aswell. And he should have been in front of the truck slowing traffic down not standing behind the stopped truck where he can get hurt. Lots of stuff went wrong here.
This apparently happened a few hundred yards from the turnoff to hwy. 162–Covelo CA.
No, it happened south of there at underpass road. Where the bridge crosses outlet creek and the railroad tracks.
After seeing the photos, I am just happy that no one has died. I hope the woman who was driving the Chevrolet will heal from her major injuries and be fine again. As one commenter stated had they stayed inside their truck they would have been probably killed, and I agree. The van really sucked up the blunt force well, as the driver had only minor injuries.