A car accident in California, allegedly caused by a man from Portland, put five people in the hospital just two days before Christmas.
The crash happened on Saturday, December 23 on Interstate 5. According to the California Highway Patrol, the 45-year-old man from Oregon was heading south around 3:30 in the afternoon when he turned his vehicle in an unsafe manner and lost control. The CHP did not note exactly what that turning maneuver was.
In any case, he lost control of his 1999 Toyota and slammed into a 1991 Chevrolet. A 16-year-old boy was behind the wheel of that vehicle, with two passengers. One was a child.
Both the Chevy and the Toyota left the roadway, slamming into the guardrail and flipping over. Pictures from the scene show the vehicle upside down with Christmas presents lying in the grass and dirt just off the shoulder.
Everyone in the Chevy was hurt. Emergency crews took them to Mercy Medical Center. They also took the 45-year-old man and his passenger to Shasta Regional Medical Center. They had minor injuries.
The highway itself stayed closed for about three hours after the crash as the authorities cleaned up, did their preliminary investigation and gave assistance to everyone who was hurt.
No one wants to spend a night in the hospital, much less one over the holidays. However, car accidents happen every day, and the risk is nearly unavoidable when drivers make serious mistakes. Those who are hurt need to know if they have a right to financial compensation for those medical bills and other damages.
Source: Record Searchlight, “5 sent to hospital after I-5 crash in Redding,” Damon Arthur and Mike Chapman, Dec. 23, 2017
