- Elizabeth Larson
- Posted On
Clearlake woman killed in Tuesday head-on collision
The name of the 41-year-old woman has not yet been released by officials pending notification of family.
Two other drivers – husband and wife Jesus R. Valdes, 53, of Novato and Elisha Valdes, 49, of Clearlake Oaks, who were in separate cars – also were injured in the wreck, the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office reported.
The CHP said that at 9:15 a.m. Tuesday, the Clearlake woman was driving her 2005 Mercedes ML350 northbound on Highway 53, north of Ogulin Canyon Road, at approximately 70 miles per hour.
The CHP said the Mercedes driver crossed a broken yellow center line, entering into the southbound lane, and was passing a large vehicle when she collided head-on with a 2016 Toyota Camry driven by Jesus Valdes, who was traveling southbound on Highway 53.
Elisha Valdes was following her husband in her 2015 Nissan Altima. The CHP said her vehicle collided with the driver's side of her husband’s Toyota.
All three vehicles sustained major damage due to the collision and were disabled in the roadway, causing Highway 53 to be closed for several hours in both directions, the CHP said.
The CHP said the Lake County Sheriff's Office, Caltrans, the Lake County Fire Protection District and Clearlake Police Department responded to the scene to assist.
The CHP said the driver of the Mercedes was not wearing her seat belt and died of her injuries at the scene.
Jesus Valdes suffered major injuries and was transported to Kaiser Permanente Vacaville Medical Center for treatment, while Elisha Valdes had minor injuries and was transported to Adventist Health Clear Lake, the CHP said. Both Jesus and Elisha Valdes were wearing their seat belts.
At this time, drugs or alcohol are not suspected to be a factor in this collision, the CHP said.
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