LOWER LAKE, Calif. – A two-vehicle crash near Lower Lake on Saturday afternoon sent six people to area hospitals, with three of the victims suffering serious injuries.
The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Office reported that the crash occurred at 12:20 p.m. on Highway 29 south of Hofacker Lane near Lower Lake.
Hidden Valley Lake resident Annette Sykora-Finch, 47, was driving her 1999 Ford Explorer southbound on Highway 29 south of Hofacker Lane, according to the report.
For reasons still under investigation, Sykora-Finch lost control of her vehicle, skidded into the northbound lane and overturned directly in the path of a 2000 Ford F250 pickup driven by 39-year-old Matthew Elliott of Lakeport, the report stated.
The CHP said Elliott could not avoid the collision and the front of his pickup hit the top of Sykora-Finch’s Explorer as it was overturning.
Sykora-Finch, Elliott and one of Elliott’s passengers, 35-year-old Shana Smith of Middletown, were transported by air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for treatment of moderate to major injuries, the CHP said.
Three other passengers who has been traveling with Elliott were transported by South Lake County Fire ambulance to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake for precautionary purposes, according to the CHP. They included a 22-year-old female and 15-year-old female, both of Clearlake, and a 2-year-old male from Lakeport, none of which were named in the report.
The CHP said all six individuals were wearing their seatbelts. Alcohol does not appear to be a factor in the wreck.
The collision remains under investigation, the CHP said.