‘I can’t get her out.’ Bystanders rush to help in deadly crash that closed Highway 50 at Sunrise
A fatal multivehicle crash involving a cement truck killed one person and briefly closed eastbound Highway 50 at Sunrise Boulevard during the Wednesday morning commute, according to California Highway Patrol.
The crash killed the passenger of a Toyota Tercel that had pulled back into the highway from the right shoulder, CHP East Sacramento spokesman Officer Michael Cordier said.
Cordier said the Tercel was struck from behind by a Toyota Prius, which resulted in each car ending up perpendicular to traffic. The Tercel was then broadsided by the cement truck, which weighed more than 65,000 pounds, CHP logs said. All parties remained on-scene, Cordier said.
The driver of the Tercel was transported to the hospital with unknown injuries, Cordier said.
Holly Matzke said she was driving to Citrus Heights to babysit her nephew when the chain-reaction crash broke out in front of her. She said was one of three bystanders who left their car and tried to assist the Tercel’s occupants.
“When I was driving by, I slammed on my brakes because I had seen the man pressed face-up against the glass,” Matzke said. “I was the one that called 911.”
Matzke said she has worked in the home-care industry and is trained in CPR.
“Dispatch operators started telling me, ‘Start rubbing her back, talk to her. If you can get her out, start compressions.’ I said, ‘Ma’am, I can’t get her out.’ ”
Matzke said after calling 911, she tried to talk to the injured man who was pulled out of the car by others, and that it appeared to be a husband and wife. Matzke cushioned his head with her sweater, she said.
“I just kept telling him, ‘Hold on, they’re coming, they’re coming’,” Matzke said.
All eastbound lanes were shut down at 8:20 a.m. The two left lanes were reopened about 8:45 a.m., Caltrans and CHP said, and traffic was clear by 10:30 a.m., Caltrans live traffic cameras show.
This story was originally published April 3, 2019 at 8:31 AM.
