LUCERNE, Calif. – Two teenagers were injured – one of them seriously – in a Halloween-night crash involving two vehicles in Lucerne.
The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said the crash occurred at approximately 7:17 p.m. Tuesday on Highway 20 at Ninth Street, near the entrance to Lucerne Harbor Park, where a trunk or treat Halloween event was taking place.
The CHP said Salina Benitez, 23, of Lucerne was driving a 2010 Ford Fusion with 4-year-old Edgar Benitez in the car with her. She had stopped at the intersection of Highway 20 and Ninth Street and was preparing to make a left turn.
At the same time, Jessee Graham, 21, of Biggs was driving a 2003 Dodge Neon westbound on Highway 20 just east of Ninth Street. The CHP said Graham’s passengers included 19-year-old Christopher Cagle of Olivehurst, 17-year-old James Teel of Yuba City and 19-year-old Ethan Major of Marysville.
The CHP said Benitez proceeded to make a left turn from Ninth Street onto Highway 20, directly in the path of Graham's Dodge Neon, with the left front of the Ford colliding with the front of the Dodge.
Following the collision, both vehicles came to rest within the intersection of Highway 20 and Ninth Street, the CHP said.
Cagle suffered major head trauma and was transported by REACH air ambulance to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, the CHP said. The report said he was not using his seat belt.
Teel, who was wearing his seat belt, complained of injury to his neck and was transported by Northshore Fire ambulance to Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport for treatment of minor injuries, according to the report.
The rest of the individuals involved were uninjured. The CHP said all of them were wearing seat belts.
Driving under the influence is not suspected to be a factor in this collision, the CHP said.
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Two hurt in Halloween-night Lucerne collision
- Elizabeth Larson
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