LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Authorities said distracted driving was the cause of a crash that involved five vehicles and seriously injured three people, two of them children, on Monday evening.
The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said the crash occurred at 5:55 p.m. Monday on Highway 20, east of Reclamation Road, near Nice.
The CHP said traffic was stopped for a major injury collision involving a semi which had occurred a short time earlier on Highway 20 near Pomo Way.
Joshua Franklin Murray, 39, of Lucerne, was driving his 2002 Dodge Ram pickup eastbound at 55 miles per hour. The CHP said Franklin stated he was eating a hamburger he recently purchased when he suddenly noticed traffic was stopped ahead of him.
Franklin heavily applied the brakes to his Dodge but was unable to avoid a collision with the rear of a Kia Soul driven by Elizabeth Elliot Ambriz, 33, of Redwood Valley, who had two girls, ages 3 and 6, in the vehicle with her, the CHP said.
The CHP said the front of Ambriz’s Kia was propelled into the rear of a 1998 Honda Accord driven by 62-year-old Jacquine Snelson of Upper Lake.
Ambriz’s Kia was then pushed into the westbound lane, directly in the path of a 2015 Ford Explorer driven by 49-year-old Ladina Williams of Lucerne. The CHP said the two vehicles collided head-on.
Snelson's Honda subsequently rolled into the rear of a 2007 Chevrolet HHR driven by 61-year-old Toni Gayle Conley of Upper Lake, the CHP said.
The CHP said the two children in Ambriz’s vehicle suffered major injuries and were flown out of the county – the 6-year-old was taken to the UC Davis Medical Center and the 3-year-old was taken to UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Oakland. Ambriz also had major injuries and was taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport.
The older of the two children was determined to have not been properly restrained in a booster seat at the time of the collision, the CHP said. All other parties were properly restrained in the appropriate seat belts and/or child restraints.
Williams suffered a possible hand injury and was transported by Northshore Fire ambulance to Sutter Lakeside Hospital. A 1-year-old female child who was with Williams in her vehicle was transported with Williams for precautionary reasons due to her age, the CHP reported.
The CHP said Murray, Snelson and Conley were uninjured.
The collision was determined to be caused by distracted driving, the CHP said, adding that neither alcohol nor drugs were determined to be factors in this collision.
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CHP says distracted driving caused major injury five-vehicle pile up
- Elizabeth Larson
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