Head-on collision involving CAL Fire vehicle leaves one dead
Emergency responders are currently investigating the scene of a fatal crash on Highway 99 near Keefer Road. Image courtesy of Rick Carhart, Informations Officer for CAL Fire.
A head-on, fatal traffic accident was reported on Highway 99, north of Chico, Friday.
According to Rick Carhart, Information Officer for CAL Fire, the incident was reported north of Keefer Road at 2:14 p.m. The area is still being cleared and investigated.
Carhart stated that at the time of the incident the utility truck was traveling northbound on Highway 99 with two passengers. A second vehicle, a Geo Prism was traveling southbound when, Carhart said, the driver veered off of the right shoulder of the road and ran into a sign.
The driver then allegedly overcorrected, entered the northbound lane, and collided with the utility truck head-on.
The driver of the Geo Prism was killed in the collision. The driver of the utility truck and one passenger received only minor injuries and were transported to the Enloe Medical Center.
As of 3:44 p.m., Carhart reported that emergency vehicles were still in the area of the collision on Highway 99. “They’ll be out here for a while. I haven’t seen a tow truck yet,” he said.
Of the cause of the collision, he said, “It’s still in the early stages of investigation.”
The utility truck was from the Shasta County CAL Fire unit.
More information on this collision will be released as it is reported.
Natalie Hanson can be reached at [email protected] or @NatalieH_Orion on Twitter.
