Two-Vehicle Crash Near Napa
On Monday morning, October 18, 2021, a 25-year old man from Southern California suffered life-threatening injuries when he was involved in a two-vehicle crash north of Napa, on the Silverado Trail.
Details of the Incident
The crash occurred at approximately 8:40 a.m. The 25-year old from Bellflower, California, was driving a 2017 Infinity north on the Silverado Trail, in the vicinity of Oak Knoll Avenue. At that time, he tried to pass a 2018 Dodge Ram pickup truck that was in front of him, according to a statement from the Napa Area Office of the California Highway Patrol (CHP).
As the Infinity driver was attempting to pass the Dodge Ram, his sedan clipped the side of the pickup truck, causing the Infinity driver to lose control of his vehicle, which then went on to strike a tree located on the east shoulder of the road.
Driver Injuries
The Infinity driver was transported by American Medical Response (AMR) ambulance to Providence Queen of the Valley Medical Center. According to CHP representatives, it did not appear that he had been wearing his seat belt and he sustained severe, life-threatening injuries.
The driver of the Dodge Ram truck was a 26-year-old from Boulder, Colorado, who escaped serious injuries.
CHP to Continue Investigating
The identity of the injured driver of the Infinity has not yet been released. The Napa CHP is continuing its investigation into the details of the crash.
Passing on a Two-Lane Road
The Federal Highway Administration, which operates under the United States Department of Transportation, has looked at the dangers of passing maneuvers conducted on two-lane, rural roads, of which the Silverado Trail in the Napa area is one.
When a vehicle attempts to pass a slower vehicle that is driving ahead of the first in the same direction, there are safety risks. Most of the risk comes from the fact that the passing vehicle is now traveling in a lane that is designated for traffic heading in the opposite direction. Because of this, anyone passing on a two-lane road must have adequate passing sight distance – in fact, this is critical. Highway engineers must know the passing sight distance that exists on two-lane roads in order to determine the need for no-passing zones.
Watch the YouTube video. The clip below documents a drive along the two-lane Silverado Trail near Napa.
Types of Passing Accidents
The FHA looked at the types of crashes that resulted from passing on a two-lane road. While head-on collisions are the most serious and deadly, there are actually more sideswipe accidents that happen when a driver is passing another on a two-lane rural road. Sideswipes account for nearly 32% of such accidents, while head-on passing accidents made up only around 6.4%. This could be because if it becomes clear that there is the danger of a head-on collision, a driver will do anything to avoid it, which could then result in a sideswipe crash.
In this recent Napa area crash, the initial contact was between the sides of the Infinity and the pickup, but unfortunately, that contact caused the driver of the Infinity to lose control of his vehicle, which resulted in him being involved in a more severe secondary crash. This is often the case with sideswipe accidents, as the first contact causes one or more of the vehicles to veer from their intended courses.
Napa Personal Injury Attorney
Hello – I’m Ed Smith, a Napa Personal Injury Attorney and the founder of AutoAccident.com. Driver negligence results in far too many crashes on our Northern California highways and roads. If you have suffered injuries or your family has endured the pain of a wrongful death of a loved one following a car accident, our team of compassionate and experienced injury attorneys can help. Call us at (707) 564-1900 or (800) 404-5400 for free and friendly legal advice.
Photo: by Scott Rodgerson via Unsplash
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