[UPDATE 1:33 p.m..: Fatality/Road Reopened] One Unconscious After Crash on Hwy 1
A white van crashed about 10:13 a.m. near mile marker 77 on Hwy 1 just south of Westport.
The van is on its passenger side laying against the trees, the Incident Commander reported to dispatch. The driver is unconscious.
An air ambulance was requested a second time. The first request was turned down due to weather issues. But after seeing the situation, the Incident Commander again requested an air ambulance. However, again the medevac was declined due to weather at the base.
Please remember that information gathered from initial reports is subject to revision as more facts become available.
UPDATE 10:43 a.m.: Medical personnel have pronounced the driver as deceased.
UPDATE 11:45 a.m.: According to Westport Fire Department, Hwy 1 is temporarily closed due to tow truck extraction of the van. There is no estimated time to reopening.
UPDATE 1:33 p.m.: Scanner traffic indicates that the vehicle has been extricated from the crash site, first responders have cleared the area, and Highway 1 has reopened to traffic.
UPDATE: CHP Releases Information on Today’s Fatality Near Westport
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Is it just me or have there been a lot of bad car accidents lately? Seems like the last few weeks have been very rough
What pisses me off is that my auto insurance rates went up, thanks to automobile fatalities going up 10 percent in our area.
Overwhelmed with empathy for the dead, injured and traumatized?
My compassion for a number of local drivers has dropped, and will stay dropped, with many of these road fatalities could have been avoided with better attention to the road conditions, along with much lower speeds.
I just had one driver, just several minutes before this post, turn on their turn signal, and made a lane in front of me as I was passing them, with a few inches to spare.
Is our my eggs and milk from the store buddy. But hey it’s life lol. Be happy that you are not one of those people. Pray to god.
Sure seems like it. Driving anywhere in the County gets more dangerous every day. People refuse to adjust driving for ambient conditions.
IMHO: Call the Coast Guard. If it can be done… they will do it. But it’s too late now.
Maybe our local congressional representatives might introduce a bill to enlarge the Coast Guard responsibilities ?
If it’s not a technical rescue situation, probably not.
I would think any rescue operation involving aircraft, ambulances or law enforcement is “technical.” And critical, like life-saving. But that’s just me.
Technical rescue has a very specific meaning regarding the means used to rescue victims from difficult terrain. Those are the land situations in which Coast Guard helicopters are used.
There is another medivac chopper and plane company in Redding, CA. PHI Medi Vac. They will fly when others won’t. I would think the medivac chopper that turned down the trip should lose their license. It probably caused the woman to perish from lack of quick medical treatment. They make me sick to my stomach!
You can’t be serious. These people who fly these missions have lives and families too. They do incredible things and take incredible risks as it is. And you want them to fly in dangerous conditions and just take their chances? That makes no sense in the real world.
The Coast Guard will fly! The others are just scared jerks.
Remember the unofficial(?) Coast Guard motto: “You have to go out, you don’t have to come back.” Members of the military (USCG usually non-combatant with exceptions) take an oath of honor to risk it all in service to the United States of America (if we can keep it). LEOs take similar oaths.
Civilian companies and employees generally do not.
The Coast Guard men and women knew the risks involved when they signed up. They will fly come hell or high water, and I am damn proud of each and every one of them!
Will Martin fly…???
Any damn time with the men and women of the Coast Guard!
So let’s put the whole flight team at risk of death or injury … They don’t decline on Willie nilly reasons … Are you even paying attention to the weather? Shame on you! Maybe think a little before engaging your mouth.
They decline to fly if there is a cloud in the sky!!!
What seems to be the problem is that certain professions in the past have been taken by brave souls who willingly place others needs before their own safety and many people have great respect for those professions because of those souls , where by today we have those professions filled with people who would rather not see any risk and decide not to act out of fear of getting hurt themselves while ridding the coat tails so to speak of those that came before , long gone are the days of charging into a burning building or running into grab a shooting victim , no bow adays any sort of possible risk and you have these professions staging until law enforcement declares it clear or safe long gone are the days of selfless service instead it is all about me and i . Yet they want to be treated with the same honor and respect of those that never even thought of themselves when others were in need . And we have corporations whom charge money wither or not you ever use their services whom have replaced the publicly tax payer services saying they will preform these services as-long as you are a member and as long as their insurance company is ok with the same amount of risk that they must assume and can not defer .
People ask all the time what is wrong with kids these days , lets see , we expect them to act as adults while treating them like children . They have the entire planets knowledge at the tip of their fingers from a young age yet we still think we can fool them with santa , easter bunnies tooth faries . We have taken away either by closing down or outlawing many of the things we did as children and replaced those things with nothing at all . And we have proven there are no heros no role models only likes on social media and we wonder why things are going to shit a d young people have to be asked which gender they are ffs
I guess you did not like my comment Bozo. Sorry if I offended you in anyway.
To the person that is giving me a red thumbs down, I sure hope they call for Medvac flight for you, and they won’t come. My comment regarding another medical flight company should be appreciated! Med Air only flies when the sun is shining apparently.
Your comment is actually fully appreciated for how very inappropriate it actually is..
If Med Air only flies a single engine helicopter, then they are constrained to certain atmospheric weather conditions, based on visibility…
Take it up with the FAA…
Then, make the considerable effort and dedication to get your helicopter pilot’s license, and/or become a flight paramedic…
You should maybe do a little homework, before you start judging them too harshly…
…And/or put your money where your mouth is, and show us all how it’s done…
Eh ? Not sure who is giving the red ‘down-vote’ marks… it ain’t me.
Sorry Bozo. The red thumbs down just make me angry.
It takes a two engine helicopter to fly over extensive terrain with no land visibility due to heavy fog or cloud cover…
Single engine helicopters are prohibited from doing so.
Maybe you are not aware of that.
These are established safety protocols, not some random, arbitrary, choices.
Just wondering, Martin…
Do you happen to be a rescue helicopter pilot…???
I was just wondering, in case I ever carelessly get myself into a hopelessly futile bind, in a mountainous and heavily forested area, and the weather and visibility are hopelessly shitty, so I’ll know who to call in advance…
I can count on YOU, at ALL times, rain or shine, night or day, single engine or not, right…???
(If so, I’ll be praying as hard as I can for you, while you are promptly on your way, if that is of any consolation, because you’ll be needing it…)
Thanks in advance…
A chopper in Vietnam. After that war and seeing all the choppers go down with friends and fellow soldiers aboard, I no longer feel mentally competent to fly. Memories lost in brain fog!
I dig the frogman.
Pick it up
Pack it out
Pass it on.