A horrific crash on Highway 46 just west of Lost Hills Monday night left three people dead and two other seriously injured, the California Highway Patrol reported. The accident occurred on State Route 46, just east of Brown Material Road near the San Louis Obispo County Line at about 7:30 p.m., and involved an eastbound Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV and a westbound GMC Safari Van. According to reports in the Taft Midway Driller, the CHP believes that the Jeep crossed from eastbound lanes into oncoming traffic, where it collided with the GMC Safari Van.
Injuries and Fatalities
The driver of the Jeep, an 18-year-old Lafayette woman, and the 51-year-old driver and 71-year-old right rear passenger in the van, two men from the Salinas area, were all pronounced dead at the scene. Two other men, a 32-year-old Los Angeles man and another man from Vancouver, Washington, were seriously injured and pulled from the van as it started to catch fire. One was flown to Kern Medical Center and another was taken there by ambulance.
Highway 46 "Blood Alley"
According to a November 2009 article in the Salinas Californian, there had been 453 crashes on Highway 46 in Kern County since January 2004. Twenty of those accidents involved at least one fatality. In Kern County, Highway 46 and Highway 223 are the two state routes with the highest ration of accidents to fatalities. The currently is being widened to four lanes, which is expected to be completed in mid 2012. In February, one person was killed and five were injured in a Hwy 46 head-on crash near Annette Road. On New Years Day, three people died in a head-on crash on Highway 46 just eastbound of the San Luis Obispo - Kern County Line. The at-fault driver in that collision was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence.
Who Was At Fault?
The cause of the April 5th accident remains under investigation. However, if the facts reported by the CHP are accurate, the driver of the Jeep Cherokee likely caused this crash. Why she lost control is not clear; authorities will investigate whether she swerved to avoid something in the road, if there was a mechanical failure of her vehicle, or if she was simply distracted. The families of the people killed and injured in the van would be well advised to consult with a California highway accident attorney as soon as possible about their rights in a personal injury or wrongful death claim. An attorney familiar with the unique legal issues of highway accident head-on collisions will be able to advise the victims and their families of their best course of action to protect their legal rights.
Source: KGET News, Taft Midway Driller, Bakersfield Now
I personally think the 18 year old girl tried to commit suicide. Their is no reason why she was in the other lane of the road and she has the fault for what happen to the other two men.
Why would Mazin say such a sick and stupid thing? The 18 year old girl was a good friend of the my family and she would not commit suicide. I don't know if we will ever know what happened or why. All we know is a wonderful child is dead and two completely innocent people. My heart goes out to the family of the people in the van and they are in our prayers. We can spend billions bailing out wall street but can't afford a safer highway? I thought the governments main job was to keep us safe, not bail us out of financial mistakes.
Screw you Mazin! I can't believe people are so disrespectful in general. You need to shut your damn mouth and not judge people based on something that you have no idea about! Go shove your nose in someone elses business. I hope you rot.