By Barbara Arrigoni
Chico Enterprise-Record
OROVILLE, Calif. — Six people were injured at about 11:20 a.m. Monday in a head-on collision on Lincoln Boulevard, south of Oroville, that officials attributed to a driver’s excessive speed on wet roads and insufficient tire tread.
Although officials at the scene initially said one person suffered major injuries, California Highway Patrol Spokesman Doug Garrett later said two suffered “moderate to major” injuries. Five adults suffered injuries, as well as one child.
CHP officer Justin Wallace said Mike Posey, 37, was driving south on Lincoln and lost control of his 1995 Chevrolet Camaro near Arnold Avenue. The Camaro spun out on the wet roadway and slid into the other lane into the path of a Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck going north.
The vehicles hit head on and came to rest in the northbound lane at the embankment. The driver of the pickup, Miranda Pierson, 30, was unable to avoid the collision, CHP later said.
Wallace said four adults and one child were in the truck. Posey was the only person in the Camaro.
Two passengers in the truck were taken to Enloe Medical Center in Chico. Sheila Roberts, 60, was flown by helicopter to Enloe with unknown injuries. Chelsea Masters, 17, was taken to Enloe by ambulance with neck and back pain and an unknown specific injury. A spokeswoman at Enloe said there was no information late Monday on either of the two women. The pickup driver and two passengers were taken to Oroville Hospital in ambulances with the following injuries: Pierson reportedly suffered moderate injuries, with cuts to her face and pain to the neck and back; passenger Christopher Masters, 39, with pain to his left leg, and Chase Osbourn, 2, with minor cuts on his head. Their conditions were unknown at deadline.
Posey was also taken by ambulance to Oroville Hospital with pain in his left leg. CHP later stated in a collision report that Posey was driving “on the wet road at an unsafe speed for conditions, and due to insufficient tire tread he lost control of the vehicle.”
Posey was given a sobriety test at the scene but was found not to have been under the influence of drugs or alcohol.
No one was arrested.
Copyright 2011 MediaNews Group, Inc. and ANG Newspapers
All Rights Reserved