Sacramento County woman dies, 3 others injured when car veers off rural road near Interstate 5
A Sacramento County woman died and three others in the same car were injured in a suspected drunk driving crash early Sunday when the vehicle went off a rural road and struck a tree, the California Highway Patrol reported.
The fatal crash was reported about 1:10 a.m. along New Hope Road, just north of West New Hope Road and east of Interstate 5 near the small town of Thornton.
All four people in the 2018 Honda Accord are residents of Herald in Sacramento County, the CHP South Sacramento office announced Monday in a news release.
The CHP said investigating officers determined the Honda Accord was heading east about 50 to 55 mph on New Hope Road and the driver, a 54-year-old man, failed to negotiate a 90-degree turn in the road.
The car left the road in a northeasterly direction, and the Honda Accord’s front end hit the tree. The CHP said one rear-seat passenger, a 48-year-old woman, was not wearing a seat belt suffered fatal injuries. She was pronounced dead at the scene. The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office will release her name after her family has been notified.
The CHP said the driver suffered major injuries in the crash, with complaints of pain to his chest, hand and back. The two other passengers in the Honda Accord, two boys ages 12 and 13, suffered minor injuries in the crash. The injured car occupants were taken by ambulance to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento.
Investigators believe alcohol impairment was a contributing factor in the deadly crash, the CHP said. The conditions at the time of the crash were rainy, cloudy and cold, according to the CHP.
This story was originally published February 5, 2024 at 2:35 PM.
