NORTHERN CALIFORNIA – A Sacramento man was arrested Friday following a two-vehicle crash that closed down a portion of Highway 20 east of the Lake and Colusa County line.
Robert Towns, 21, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs after the wreck, which occurred just after 8 p.m. Nov. 2 on Highway 20 east of Mitchell Flat, several miles inside Colusa County, as Lake County has News reported.
The California Highway Patrol’s Williams office reported that Towns was driving eastbound on Highway 20, with a 17-year-old male driver – who was not identified – approaching in the westbound lane.
The CHP said Towns lost control of his vehicle, a 1992 Jeep Cherokee, and crossed the solid double-yellow lines, hitting the teenage driver, who was driving a van, according to reports from the scene.
Both of the vehicles came to rest blocking the eastbound lane and partially blocking the highway’s westbound lane, the CHP said.
Towns had a 16-month-old female toddler in his vehicle. The CHP said the toddler was in a car seat, however, it was not properly restrained in the Jeep.
A CalStar air ambulance flew Towns to Enloe Hospital in Chico. There, Towns was placed under arrest for driving under the influence and then released due to his injuries, the CHP said.
Initial CHP reports had stated that a large amount of drugs had been found in Towns’ vehicle in a diaper bag.
The teenage driver and his passenger complained of pain but refused treatment at the scene. The CHP said Enloe paramedics took the toddler and her mother to Colusa Regional Medical Center, where they were treated and released.
The CHP and a Colusa County Sheriff’s deputy opened the westbound lane and performed one-way traffic control. The eastbound lane was closed for approximately one hour.
During the roadway closure, a separate arrest for driving under the influence took place, according to the CHP.
That driver was traveling eastbound on Highway 20 and entered the collision scene, where a CHP sergeant conducting traffic control stopped him and subsequently arrested the man for being under the influence of drugs, the CHP reported.