THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED WITH ADDITIONAL INFORMATION FROM THE FIRE DISTRICT.

CLEARLAKE OAKS – Officials have offered new information regarding a crash that occurred late Monday.

The collision occurred shortly before 5 p.m. Monday on Highway 20 near Walker Ridge Road, as Lake County News has reported.

Officer Steve Tanguay reported that 23-year-old Josephine Boylen of Oceanside was driving her 2006 Chevy Malibu eastbound on Highway 20, east of Walker Ridge road. Sally Ford, 23, of Stockton was riding as Boylen's passenger.

Tanguay said he didn't yet have information on the crash's cause.

Northshore Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Pat Brown said the area where the crash took place, at mile marker 44.19, has had six major vehicle accidents in the past two years, which Caltrans officials confirmed to Lake County News.

Brown said that they've conducted four rope rescues in the area, all of which use a lot of equipment, manpower and advanced training.

The vehicle went off the roadway and was down a 75-foot embankment, according to Northshore Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Pat Brown. He said a low-angle rope rescue was necessary to rescue the two women from the crash.

Sixteen personnel from Northshore Fire and Lake County Fire Protection districts, and the Williams Fire Authority, Brown said. The response was part of a mutual aid program established between the Williams Fire Authority and agencies in Lake County.

Brown said extrication included using power equipment that had to be lowered down in stokes liter. Both patients were then secured and raised up the hill using rope rescue. With extrication and rescue the first patient was loaded into a medic vehicle within 45 minutes.

Tanguay said Boylen was transported by Lake County Fire Protection District ambulance to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake for minor injuries, while Ford was transported by a Northshore Fire Protection District ambulance to a landing zone, and was taken by REACH to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital for moderate injuries.

In all, Northshore Fire has conducted six rope rescues in the last two years, said Brown. Rescue 7511, based at the Clearlake Oaks Fire Station, is set up as a medium Office of Emergency Services rescue vehicle. He said it was purchased by St. Helena Hospital Clearlake, with Northshore Fire purchasing all of the equipment.

Brown added that rope rescue training has been supported by each fire district and the Lake County fire chiefs.

Officer Mark Crutcher is investigating the collision's cause, Tanguay said.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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