Two Injured in Rollover Accident
A rollover accident that took place in Chico on Tuesday, April 3, 2018, left two individuals with serious injuries requiring hospitalization.
What Happened?
Officers from the Chico Police Department (CPD) indicated that the accident happened at the off-ramp for Highway 99 off of Highway 32 just before 2:00 p.m. Officers stated in their report that a Toyota pickup truck had been driving eastbound on Highway 32 when the driver ignored a red light. After ignoring the red light, the pickup reportedly clipped the side of a small SUV that had been exiting the freeway.
The impact reportedly caused the driver of the pickup to lose control of her vehicle which subsequently overturned. Photos taken at the accident scene show the car on its roof with a significant portion of its exterior torn off.
What Type of Injuries?
The man who had been driving the SUV, along with his two young granddaughters who had been passengers at the time of the accident, was found uninjured at the collision scene.
The driver and passenger of the Toyota were found with serious injuries and were both transported by ambulance to the Enloe Medical Center to receive treatment. While the nature of the injuries sustained by the Toyota occupants was not reported by medical officials, it was noted that their injuries were not considered life-threatening.
Additionally, no other persons or vehicles were reported to have been involved in this accident.
Investigation
CPD officers closed the intersection off to traffic for about an hour while they conducted a preliminary accident investigation and work crews cleared debris off of the roadway. The investigation into the accident remains ongoing, and CPD has not stated whether or not they suspect the Toyota driver to have been under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol at the time of the crash.
CPD officers told reporters that they have seen collisions similar to this one occur at this intersection before.
Rollover Accidents
Rollover accidents are a particularly dangerous type of collision. Safercar.gov, a website powered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that rollover accidents have been shown to have a relatively higher fatality rate compared to other accident types nationwide.
In the city of Chico, a total of 74 rollover accidents have caused two fatalities and 95 traumatic injuries over the past ten years (2008-2017). Moreover, data from UC Berkeley research shows that, while rollovers only account for approximately three percent of Chico’s injury-related accidents, they account for almost six percent of Chico’s accidents involving fatal injuries.
Also, rollover collisions in Chico have a higher rate of DUI involvement than other types of accidents. Chico rollovers involve an intoxicated driver nearly 30 percent of the time while drunk drivers are only about 10 percent of crashes overall.
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Personal Injury Lawyers in Chico
I’m Ed Smith, a Chico personal injury lawyer. Collision-related injuries are often traumatic. If you’ve been hurt by a reckless driver, call me at (530) 392-9400 or (800) 404-5400 to receive friendly case advice for free. Also, I am available online at AutoAccident.com.
I’ve assisted Chico’s residents by resolving their wrongful death and traumatic injury cases since 1982.
See these sites to browse my clients’ reviews:
The forum for Million Dollar Advocates includes me as a member because I’ve settled or won cases in excess of one million dollars for clients.
See the Past Verdicts and Settlements I’ve obtained.
To read Northern CA’s leading vehicle accident and traumatic injury data, reporting, and info, go to AutoAccident.com.
pic: “emergency sign” by paulbr_75 via CC0pixabay
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