Five Killed in Highway 12 Crash
Friends and family came together Sunday evening to share memories of the five people from Modesto tragically killed in a crash on Highway 12.
What Happened?
According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), a Honda Civic being driven by Mona Montoya, 21, was traveling in the eastbound lane and passing cars along a two-lane highway. At some point, her vehicle did not make it back into the correct lane of travel in time. Sadly, she lost control of her car crashing head-on into a Chevy Silverado with a family of four occupants riding inside. The tragedy occurred on Highway 12 (near Highway 160) in Rio Vista. The occupants in the Silverado were treated for relatively minor injuries and are expected to make a full recovery. All the passengers in Montoya’s car we are saddened to report were fatally wounded. The deceased included two toddlers, two mothers, and a close teenage family friend. CHP investigators said several of the victims were not wearing seat belts.
Frustrated By Traffic Congestion
News reports said the victims in the Civic were heading home to Modesto from the Hayward area. Montoya was mentioned as having posted on Facebook that she was frustrated by the traffic on Highway 12.
The post said: “Traffic gots me heated.” A friend replied: “slow down Mona, it’s just for a moment.” Another posted, “drive carefully.”
Was There More Than One Contributing Factor?
Investigators have indicated unsafe passing to be the cause. Other factors sometimes include distracted driving, not wearing a seat belt, and other concerns that may be discovered in a thorough accident investigation performed by an experienced injury lawyer.
Sacramento Auto Accident and Wrongful Death Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Sacramento wrongful death lawyer and founder of autoaccident.com. If you or a member of your family has been seriously hurt or tragically lost their lives in a car accident, please call me today at (916) 921-6400 or toll-free at (800) 404-5400 for free, friendly advice.
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Photo Attribution: Courtesy of Boereck 14:28, 4 May 2006 (UTC) (Own work) [Public domain image], via Wikimedia Commons