Pedestrian struck by van; authorities investigate intentional vehicle assault
- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
LUCERNE, Calif. – A pedestrian was hit and seriously injured by a vehicle early Tuesday morning in Lucerne, with authorities investigating whether the incident was an accident or done intentionally.
Firefighters were dispatched just before 1:30 a.m. to the area of Highway 20 and Seventh Avenue in Lucerne for a possible assault with a deadly weapon involving a vehicle.
Reports from the scene said a subject was lying in the roadway after having been struck by a newer, shorter model white box van with two black racks.
There were reported to be two subjects in the van, throwing boxes out of it and trying to hit a female subject, radio reports indicated.
The vehicle was reported to be heading eastbound on Highway 20 after hitting the pedestrian, based on reports from the scene. The California Highway Patrol and sheriff’s office were involved in the search for the van, with the Clearlake Police Department also notified.
Just after 1:45 a.m. authorities had stopped the van near the “Y,” the intersection of Highway 20 and Highway 53, and found it had damage consistent with the crash, according to radio reports.
In the meantime, fire personnel requested a REACH air ambulance respond to Lucerne Harbor Park to pick up the patient. A short time later, it was decided that a Northshore Fire ambulance would transport the patient to Sutter Lakeside Hospital and rendezvous there with REACH 18.
The CHP reported that the highway at the crash site was completely closed as of 1:45 a.m. and was expected to be closed for another two hours while scene processing took place.
At the scene at around 3 a.m., sheriff’s deputies and CHP officers had closed off several blocks of Highway 20 – between Fifth and Ninth avenues – and were rerouting traffic onto Country Club Drive.
Yellow tape was stretched across the highway between the sheriff’s substation at the corner of Seventh Avenue and Lucerne Harbor Park, with deputies and officers walking through the park and up and down the street with flashlights to search for evidence.
No details about the patient’s condition were immediately available, although authorities at the scene said the person was still alive as of shortly after 3 a.m.
Anyone with cameras in the area is asked to call the sheriff’s office at 707-262-4200.
Additional information will be published when it becomes available.
Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.