Highway 99 has reopened after a fatal five car crashed shut down the roadway early this morning but traffic is still congested in the area.

The fatal crash happened just after 5:00am and shut down all the northbound lanes and several of the southbound lanes for three hours.

The accident involved five cars heading in the northbound direction.  One of the cars hit the median and the driver was ejected into the southbound lanes and was hit by another car.

CHP is investigating to determine if the driver was killed in the original crash or when they were hit by the car in the southbound lanes.

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SACRAMENTO, CA – Crews have finished cleaning up a big rig accident on Interstate 5 after a tow truck pulled out the disabled vehicle Thursday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.

CHP officers said the big rig driver may have tried to make a u-turn near the freeway entrance at Hood Franklin Road when the big rig flipped on to its side around 6:36 a.m. Thursday.

Crews shut down part of the freeway for less than 20 minutes as they pulled up the big rig and towed it out of the way of traffic.

According to CHP officers, no injuries were reported.

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A 20-car pile-up during a heavy snowstorm has forced the closure of northbound Interstate 5 from 10 miles north of Redding to Mount Shasta, California Highway Patrol officials said.

The 11:10 a.m. accident occurred near Truck Village just north of the Siskiyou County town of Mount Shasta, a CHP spokeswoman there said. She confirmed that several motorists suffered injuries, but details are unavailable.

Southbound I-5 is moving freely.

The snow has caused numerous accidents in southern Siskiyou County, which is about 220 miles north of Sacramento, including on Highway 89, the road to Mount Shasta Ski Park.

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SACRAMENTO, CA – An early morning car collision in the south area left a woman dead and four others injured Sunday, according to police.

The accident happened just before 1:45 a.m. on Power Inn Road at Elder Creek Road, Sacramento police Sgt. Norm Leong said. A Nissan Altima with two people inside and a Cadillac carrying three people collided in the intersection.

Leong said two people in the Cadillac suffered moderate injuries, but the unidentified woman, who was a passenger inside, died on scene. The two occupants in the Altima were transported to a local hospital with moderate to major injuries, according to Leong.

Police believe the Nissan was travelling southbound on Power Inn Road and the Cadillac was turning from north Power Inn Road onto westbound Elder Creek Road, when the crash happened.

Leong said it was still being determined which driver was at fault. Investigators were also looking into whether alcohol was involved in the incident.

Anyone with information about the fatal crash should contact the Sacramento Police Department at (916) 443-HELP or text in a tip to 274637. Enter SACTIP followed by the tip information.

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Last year, 24,000 cars were impounded at California checkpoints for the maximum of 30 days and critics say the practice is done to raise revenue for local governments. Statewide, the checkpoints collected last year an estimated $40 million in towing fees and police fines statewide. The article raises the question whether the seizure of property is fair and legal. Later this year, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit will consider a challenge to the constitutionality of California’s 30-day impound law.

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An Olivehurst man died in a head-on accident Friday night on Interstate 5 in south Sacramento County, according to the CHP and media reports.

Juan Carlos Reyes-Torres, 30, was driving a 1990 Toyota Camry north on I-5 south of the Lambert Road overcrossing at about 10:15 p.m. when Albert J. M. Hu of Stockton, who was headed south on I-5 in a 1999 Honda Accord with an unidentified female passenger, crossed the median and went into the opposite lane for an unknown reason.

Hue’s car collided head on with the car driven by Reyes-Torres,. The collision killed both Hue, 38, and Reyes-Torres at the scene, according to the CHP.

The passenger was taken to University of California Davis Medical Center in Sacramento with minor injuries. Her condition and hometown were not available Sunday.

The accident closed a northbound lane on I-5 for almost three hours Friday night and Sunday morning.

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Firefighters say a woman was hurled high into a tree after a car crash on a Sacramento freeway, and survived the accident.

“The female passenger had been ejected from the car and thrown up and over the sound wall which is about 12 feet high,” a fire department report said. “She landed in a tree in the backyard. The tree actually cushioned her fall, which enabled her to survive.”

The woman was in a car with her husband when the crash occurred Wednesday on Highway 99.

The first engine company responding to the accident report couldn’t find anyone in the wrecked vehicle, but another unit responding to a medical-aid call at a nearby house discovered two victims – one on the ground and another stuck in a plum tree.

The woman’s husband, who had been driving, apparently was able to get around the high wall, despite serious injures, to try to help his wife.

A resident, Sarah Rochan, told KOVR-TV in Sacramento: “That was the Lord. It wasn’t her time to go.”

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A ventricular drain with pressure monitor was placed in his brain on January 7, 2001. In addition to the foregoing, Plaintiff was suffering from aspiration and a right-sided pneumothorax. As a result, a chest tube had to be placed into his lung in the Emergency Department.

The operation to place the ventricular drain and pressure monitor in his skull took place on January 7, 2001. To rule out intra-abdominal injury a diagnostic peritoneal lavage was carried out on January 7, 2001, with an incision made below his navel.

Plaintiff was finally discharged on February 18, 2001, having been hospitalized for six weeks. Following his discharge from UC Davis Medical Center, Plaintiff was transferred to Sierra Gates Rehabilitation for initial head injury rehabilitation. On March 1, 2001, he was released to his parents’ custody.

BRAIN DAMAGE
Plaintiff suffered brain damage in the collision. On December 18, 2002, he was assessed by Alan E. Brooker, Ph.D., ABPP-CN, CRC, a clinical neuropsychologist. In his report, Dr. Brooker concludes the following:

“Thus, the pattern of neuropsychological test date reflects most difficulties are clearly delineated by auditory attention and concentration, delayed procedures (e.g., 18-second delay), but more profound difficulties were found with visual immediate memory, visual delayed memory, and auditory recognition delayed memory as measured by the WMS-3rd Edition.

His speech and language skills appear relatively intact in normal conversation, but he clearly has word-finding and word-naming difficulties. His performance on the COWAT suggested word-retrieval problems on a letter fluency task and he clearly has impaired performance for naming on the Boston Naming Test. His cognitive flexibility as measured by the Wisconsin Card-Sorting Test appears to be relatively stable. Behaviorally, he manifests lowered frustration tolerance with occasional panic attacks but, more importantly, clear evidence of apathy. This manifests in an adjustment disorder. Symptoms of note are clearly delineated on the responses on the SCL-90-R Symptom Profile.”

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Even though he was only in the 9th grade, Plaintiff was the star of his high school soccer team. In the year 2000 he excelled at all athletics and his studies came easily. College was a given as his father was a psychiatrist and his mother a college graduate.

Today, Plaintiff is not going to college. He cannot engage in athletics. He is plagued by brain damage that has produced anger, irritability, memory problems and cognitive deficits. He also suffers chronic, debilitating back pain. He has been unable to keep even the simplest full time job. What happened to Plainitff?

THE COLLISION
On January 6, 2001, Plaintiff was the rear seat passenger in a 2000 Honda Accord driven by Susan Jones. Ms. Jones was driving down Blue Jay Road. She was driving too fast for conditions and ran off the road. Her car smashed into several large trees, crushing the top and injuring both Plaintiff and Ms. Jones. The one-car accident was investigated by the California Highway Patrol, Officers Pedretti and Jong. In their report they state the following:

“Cause: P-1: (Jones) caused this collision by failing to maintain her car on the right half of the roadway, Violation 21650 VC.”

INJURIES
Plaintiff was found in the vehicle. Photographs of the Honda showed its crushed roof. He was extricated and life-flighted to UC Davis Medical Center where he was placed in the Intensive Care Unit with a severe brain injury. He was maintained in a coma for two and a half weeks to combat swelling of the brain. A CT scan taken on January 7, 2001 (the day after the collision) showed the following:

1. Left inferior parietal lobe hemorrhage of his brain near the basal ganglia.

2. Right temporal lobe hemorrhages of his brain.

3. Global cerebral edema.

4. Right posterior parietal subcortical hemorrhage of the brain.

5. Right parietal soft tissue swelling of the brain.

6. Right upper parietal subcortical hemorrhage of the brain.

7. Bilateral frontal contusions.

Plaintiff’s initial Glasgow Coma Scale in the field was 6, but dropped to 3. Normal is 15.
Plaintiff was intubated and placed on a breathing machine.

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