Two Vehicle Collision with Airbag Deployment on Henderson and H Streets in Eureka
A collision occurred near the intersection of Henderson and H Streets in Eureka around 11:10 a.m. this morning. Initial reports over the scanner indicated three vehicles were involved in the collision, however, subsequent information and an eyewitness stated only two-vehicles collided.
One of the vehicles involved in the collision appears to be a white Subaru SUV with moderate to major front end damage. According to scanner traffic, airbags were deployed as a result of the crash.
A first responder relayed to dispatch that a single occupant was in need of medical attention.
Though there are no road or lane closures associated with the collision at this time, the Caltrans QuickMap shows impacted traffic flow in the surrounding areas. Please take an alternate route if able to do so.
Please remember that this story is unfolding. Information is being reported as we gather it. However, some of the information coming from witnesses and initial official reports could be wrong. We will do our best to get the facts but, in the case that something is inaccurate, we will update with correct information as soon as we can.
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That’s why they call it Friday the 13 slow down and look twice!
They call it Friday the 13th only because they couldn’t think of anything better to call the day after Thursday the 12th!
Exactly
The Origins of Friday the 13th…
https://time.com/7021210/friday-13th-origins
13 is the higher octave of Venus …
I didn’t know Venus could sing.
What Eureka has done to it’s intersections is a hazard. Some intersections are now extremely dangerous. This being one of the worst now. I see a huge lawsuit on the horizon for the City of Eureka.
You mean intersections where people can’t just cut the corners and run over people? Or the intersections that have clearly marked bike lanes? Or ALL intersections where people need to pay attention?
I know it’s hard for some people but they really shouldnt be on the road if they can’t concentrate and follow the (very simple) rules of the road.
When exactly were people getting run over all the time? It rarely happened. Now there are more wrecks because of these stupid bump-outs that force wheelchair users into the old lane and hope they don’t get hit. If you’ve been around these, you’d know that you can’t focus on a giant intrusive curb and the person crossing the street AND oncoming traffic that you don’t clip simultaneously. Also, there wasn’t one single standard when these were installed and realigned as multiple companies were involved, so we have built-in confusion forever.
Thank you. Right on.
“If you’ve been around these, you’d know that you can’t focus on a giant intrusive curb and the person crossing the street AND oncoming traffic that you don’t clip simultaneously.”
Very simple solution – slow down!
We have one of the highest percentages of pedestrian fatalities in this country. Where have you been?
Another perfect intersection for a roundabout.
When accidents do happen at roundabouts, they are much less likely than perpendicular intersections to result in injury.
I hope the person injured in this accident is OK.
Unfortunately no one in this country knows how to use roundabouts. Or even design them. Drive in England a while, they’ve got it down. Eight lane roundabouts. Fun.
Have you seen everyone in this country use a roundabout? Yep, didn’t think so.
I’ve seen everyone in Eureka/Arcata…..clueless. It’s called extrapolating.
And the ones in England go the wrong way (compared to what we’re used to.)
I drove through a couple two-laners in a left-side country.
Was nearly enough to make me give up and just walk.
I rode my bike to Guintoli yesterday and people were negotiating the roundabouts just fine. The same in Sunny Brae.
Just fine for americans.
Yup, why sure… you will take a block of residences out. Do that for every intersection on H, I, 6th, 7th… and we WILL have a housing shortage.
On top of that I dunno what’s going to happen to the ‘no-bike’ lane or the curb fart-outs. Maybe a bike bridge ?
Why would you want to remove housing?
Just put the roundabouts within the footprints of existing intersections.
You haven’t figured out multiple lane roundabouts… eh ?
That’s pretty cool.
But I don’t think that will fit within the current intersection footprints.
It’s better to stick with a variety that would.
(Sighs.) Roundabout with multiple lanes… It WON’T fit.
Sorry about that.
Two-lane streets only need single lane roundabouts.
Why create more choke points? You’ll end up with more rear-end accidents. You traffic-calming folks got what you wanted already: two lanes and a bike lane that not a large number of people use (I and others prefer the long-time route, J St. where you don’t have to deal with H&I racers). Leave it be already. Not all of us want to ride a bike like you (or can) and want to take 20 minutes to cross a city only 4 miles wide.
Now, if the lot of folks had been more vocal about having a bypass built like it could have 20 years ago, you could turn the surface roads back into deer trails or green belts and bike paths, and we wouldn’t be having these conversations. I’ve seen this in other cities I’ve lived, where you start elevating and moving some roads, you can do as you please with what’s under and around them.
Actually, the first roads were paved at the request of bike riders.
Mythbusters did a segment about roundabouts vs. 4-way stops and found roundabouts were substantially faster. Could I find the segment on YouTube? Heck no! This is the closest I could get:
https://youtu.be/BvNO8LWVfAg?si=FVFmZLzdu9SQSFET&t=160
Hmm… been on H and I streets lately ?
One way… 3 lanes. (One is a non-bike lane.)
Multi lane turnabouts often take up a city block or more.
Ohboy.
D’oh! Sorry, managed to forget that vital nugget of knowledge.
Like in Arcata where they just drive over those too? Also, trucks with trailers don’t navigate these well. Not every intersection needs one of these because you think so.
If you mean the big trucks riding over the curbs inside the roundabouts, they used mountable curbs for just that purpose.
The bulbouts and bikelanes at work
Why yes !
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Government: They make life difficult for working people… and also somehow spend the working peoples money making life more difficult !
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That’s a double winner !!!
For approximately the last ten years drivers have been warned not to use their cell phones or text while driving. That warning and now law is mostly ignored, and accidents have increased exponentially. People are driving off the road in one car accidents. So now we have a flat screen computer on our dashboards, to effectively divert our attention from driving. In my opinion, car manufacturers couldn’t have made a more dangerous decision. The rate of accidents by inattentive and diverted drivers will continue to increase, so don’t take it for granted anymore that a driver sees you. Signage isn’t difficult if you follow the speed limit.
OK, will avoid intersection for the next day, or so.
City of Eureka doesn’t get it. Should be a stop sign before H st on Henderson.
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Henderson… a long street… no stop signs… drivers go to er… ‘sleep’.
Bingo. It’s been that way for years. Hmm… maybe cost $1K to fix.
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Meanwhile, they spend $5 million (?) building curb fart-outs and green painting lanes.
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Go figure.
J St. already has bike lanes in both directions, has for years. Those very cute and rarely used bike lanes on H and I streets were/are a total waste of time and money. Urban planning? Dosen’t look like much thought went into it. I ride a bicycle to downtown Eureka and back once a week. Never use H or I streets because they’re too busy with distracted drivers. Paint provides no protection.
Half the point of the changes was to slow down the race car drivers in their neighborhoods, which the residents of H & I streets seem to appreciate.
Haven’t noticed any slowing down on H or I streets. Drive them daily. You want to slow drivers down? Stop signs at every intersection and/or speed bumps. Paint doesn’t do it.
EPD using radar on H & I Streets would slow traffic considerably and generate funds for the city. EPD ignores my requests.
EPD has publicly stated they don’t do traffic enforcement. No personal.
Seems like it’s time to divert more funds from Measure Z into traffic and law enforcement.
Bummer. Did they narrow the lanes? Freeway lanes are 13′, city street lanes should be 9′ – 10′. Wider lanes are more forgiving of (and encourage) faster speeds.
Curb fart-outs and paint are being propagated across most small cities.
Right now Blue Lake has started on a crippling traffic bent.
Someone in bureaucracy is pushing that… all of the curb-farts look the same.
There IS a stop before H on Henderson. In fact, it’s better than a stop sign, it’s a stop light at I and Henderson. And a stop sign a block or two before that at J or K. Then after H, on Henderson, at E and F, there are two more lights. That’s TWO stops both before and after the stop at H on Henderson. In the span of six blocks, seven intersections, there are no less than FIVE stops.
My mistake, no stops at J or K on Henderson. Nor are there any for quite awhile before that. S might be the next. However, there is the light at I, before H on Henderson. Someone picked up a fair amount of speed in one block.
Usually the accidents are at I street… H and Henderson is a bit of an outlier.
Well at least Subaru gets a 5-star crash rating for the NHTSA. Where did the deployed airbags disappear to? I don’t see any. I sure hope the driver will be fine.
Airbags deflate after deployment, probably so they don’t pose a suffocation risk.
That and several other reasons. They inflate at explosion speeds, as designed, but are also designed to deflate quickly due to suffocation and entrapment risks. Both of which I’ve had to encounter myself with others in past crashes. I can tell you that if you have asthma, a mastectomy, recent surgeries, or are pregnant they can cause some serious post-incident problems. They’ll save your life, but are not 100% issue-free. I can tell you firsthand that an airbag to the face doesn’t tickle and if you get any of the bag’s explosive powder on your skin it will f-ing hurt. Chemical burns are a bitch. https://www.wired.com/story/the-insane-physics-of-airbags/
Back in the ’90s I met a woman who’d had her arm broken by an airbag. She was perfectly fine with it; she said it was better than dying.
Korina 42, I know that airbags deflate extremely fast after deployment, but they don’t just vanish. I don’t see any sign of them in that Subaru. Do you?
Sagging down from the steering wheel?