1 dead, girl injured in Northern California 5-car crash. DUI suspect from Sacramento arrested

The California Highway Patrol arrested a Sacramento man accused of driving intoxicated Tuesday and causing a multi-vehicle crash in Northern California that killed a woman and left a 10-year-old girl severely injured. The driver now faces a second-degree murder charge, CHP officials said.

William Dougherty, 49, was headed east on Highway 36 around 7:45 a.m. near the Lassen County community of Johnstonville at a high rate of speed and approached four vehicles at a traffic light that had just turned green, according to a news release from the CHP’s Susanville office.

Dougherty, driving a 1998 Ford van, “was unable to slow, stop, or take evasive action” and slammed into a 2019 Chevrolet Equinox carrying two passengers at the intersection of Highway 395, CHP officials said. That crash triggered a chain reaction in which the Chevrolet hit a Freightliner truck driven by a Florida man.

The suspect was able to veer right to avoid hitting the Freightliner truck but then instead struck a Jeep Wrangler when he veered to the left, the CHP said.

The Jeep Wrangler then struck the rear of another vehicle, the fifth and final involved in the incident.

The Chevrolet Equinox driver, a 47-year-old Susanville woman, died at the scene, the CHP said. A 10-year-old girl riding with the woman suffered critical injuries and was flown to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno.

Five other occupants in the crash, including Dougherty, had minor injuries, according to the CHP news release.

Investigators arrested Dougherty on suspicion of murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while under the influence of drugs, driving while under the influence and driving while addicted to a drug, the CHP said.

Dougherty faces a so-called “Watson” DUI murder charge, according to the news release. Under California law, a driver can face a second-degree murder charge for a fatal DUI crash if they have a prior conviction for DUI.