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Fatal car accident: A 16-year-old girl was killed Friday when a pickup truck struck the side of her car on her way home from Renaissance High School in Watsonville.

• A 16-year-old girl was driving home from school on a rain-slicked road when a full-size pickup truck crashed into the side of her car.

• The teen died at the scene.

• Police said that unsafe speed and slippery roads probably were factors in the accident.

The fatal crash occurred at around 1:20 p.m., according to a Watsonville Patch news report.

California Highway Patrol officer Chris Micheels said the high school student — later identified as Freedom resident Cynthia Madrigal — was driving a late-model Volkswagen Beetle southbound on San Andreas Road at the time of the accident.

The two-lane rural road, which many students use to get back to their homes after school, cuts through strawberry fields and rolling hills. It was wet and slippery because of overnight thunderstorms that soaked Santa Cruz County, according to a report in the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

About two miles south of the high school, near Sunset Beach Road, a northbound black Chevy Silverado pickup truck — driven by a 67-year-old Watsonville man whose identity was withheld — slammed into the passenger side of Madrigal’s small car.

Details of what caused the pickup truck to hit the car were not yet clear. CHP investigators did not suspect that alcohol was involved in the accident, but unsafe speed on the rain-slicked roads probably were factors, Micheels said. CHP officials reminded drivers to slow down during rainy conditions and allow more time for travel.

Madrigal had no pulse when emergency crews arrived at the scene. Paramedics administered CPR but were unable to resuscitate the victim. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The pickup truck driver sustained minor injuries, Micheels said.

Students at the high school were devastated by the news of Madrigal’s death, principal Artemisa Cortez said. The school will provide grief counseling services for students and staff on Monday, Cortez added.

Pajaro Valley Unified School District superintendent Murry Schekman said Madrigal was well-liked and would be deeply missed.

“The whole school is very sad,” Schekman said.

On Saturday, friends and schoolmates honored Madrigal with flowers and candles placed at the side of the road where the accident occurred.

Watsonville Car Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims and their families for more than 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

A 24-year-old mother was struck and killed Tuesday night in a horrific car accident that has Marysville police investigators scrambling for details.

• A Jeep SUV apparently speeded up to get through a green light and then broadsided a Kia Rio.

• A pedestrian was killed in the wreck. The driver of the Kia was airlifted to a hospital with major injuries.

• Police are awaiting toxicology results to determine whether drugs or alcohol were involved.

The fatal pedestrian accident occurred at around 8:40 p.m. at 10th and F streets, according to a report in the Marysville Appeal-Democrat.

A young mother of a 3-year-old girl was killed and at least four other people were hospitalized.

Marysville police Sgt. Chris Sachs said investigators were trying to piece together the evidence to determine exactly how the deadly wreck happened. There was so much debris at the scene that it was difficult to reconstruct the accident.

“This was one of the worst traffic collisions we’ve had in quite a while because of the number of victims and the amount of damaged property,” Sachs said.

Witnesses Jason Christopher and Holland Yeaton, both Marysville residents, were walking north on F Street when they saw a 2007 Jeep Commander - driven by 21-year-old Aaron Furr of Marysville — speed up to get through the green light.

They said the Jeep started to turn onto 10th Street, but then it swerved to avoid hitting pedestrians in the crosswalk and slammed into the side of a 2003 Kia Rio, driven by Martin Fisher of Olivehurst. At some point during the wreck, one of the vehicles crashed into a utility pole. The Appeal-Democrat described the scene:

The utility pole had been sheared in half, with part of it hanging suspended from the lines and part blocking the left-hand turn and middle lanes of eastbound traffic. Splintered wood, broken glass and pieces of metal littered the intersection.

The scene looked like an explosion, as vehicles flipped over and the power line sparked. Christopher and Yeaton immediately ran over to see if they could help anyone.

“One of the pedestrians [Justin O'Neal of Yuba City] was fine,” Christopher told the Appeal-Democrat. “But he kept asking for his fiancee and no one could tell him anything.”

The fiancee, Terany “Tera” Vessey of Olivehurst, died at the scene. Her father, Scott Widing, said police have explained to family members the investigation was in the early stages.

“It looks like someone was speeding,” Widing said. “It looks like someone was just being really negligent, and it’s just sad that she was in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

The victim’s fiance, Justin O’Neal of Yuba City, suffered minor injuries. He was transported to Rideout Memorial Hospital in Marysville, where he was treated and released.

Fisher, who was driving the Kia Rio, suffered major injuries. He was airlifted by helicopter to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, where he was listed in serious condition.

Furr, who was driving the Jeep, sustained minor injuries and also was taken to Rideout, where he was treated and released. His 16-year-old brother, who was a passenger in the Jeep, sustained more serious injuries and was hospitalized but no details about his injuries were available. Police said they believed the teen was in stable condition.

Police did not rule out alcohol or drugs as possible factors in the accident. Toxicology tests were ordered and it can take several weeks for those results, police said.

No arrests were made at the scene. The investigation is ongoing.

Marysville Car Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims and their families for more than 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

A man was killed after a tree fell on Highway 13 in Oakland. (Photo: San Francisco Chronicle)

The rainstorm that has drenched the Bay Area all week has caused many car accidents, including a fatal crash in Oakland after a large tree fell onto Highway 13 early Thursday morning.

• A huge tree cracked and fell across the freeway that cuts through the Oakland hills.

• An oncoming car hit the tree. The occupants of the car exited the vehicle and went to the right shoulder.

• Then a pickup truck hit the tree, the car, and the driver of the car — a 19-year-old from Washington state.

• The teen was killed. His three passengers and the truck driver were hospitalized.

The deadly highway crash — shortly before 4:30 a.m. — was part of a series of accidents that occurred after the tree fell, according to a report in the Oakland Tribune.

California Highway Patrol officer Sam Morgan said the tree fell south of Park Boulevard at 4:21 a.m. and landed across both southbound lanes of the roadway. That section of Highway 13 cuts through a heavily wooded area of the Oakland hills.

Shortly after the tree fell, a 1996 Toyota Camry — driven by a 19-year-old man from Washington state — hit the tree in the far left lane and then came to a stop. The Camry was partly in the traffic lane and partly on the center median, Morgan said.

“It ran into the tree driving up and over it,” CHP Sgt. Kerry Grimes told ABC News. “This tree (trunk) is approximately a foot to a foot and half in diameter.”

Neighbors heard the loud crack when the huge tree broke and fell to the freeway. Then they heard screaming from the accident scene and called 911.

The Camry driver and all three of his passengers got out of the car and walked over to the right shoulder. They were discussing the situation when they saw a pickup truck coming down the road, Grimes said. They scattered to get out of the way. One of them scurried up the embankment adjacent to the freeway.

The truck — driven by a 59-year-old man from Pittsburg — hit the tree, and then the Camry, and then the 18-year-old Camry driver.

“When the truck ran into the tree, it broke the tree in half,” Grimes told ABC News. “The lower half of the tree broke off and was forced up the embankment.”

The broken tree trunk trapped the Camry passenger who had run up the embankment. Oakland firefighters had to use chainsaws to free her, according to a report in the San Francisco Chronicle.

The driver of the Camry died at the scene. His three passengers suffered minor to moderate injures, as did the pickup truck driver. All four survivors were taken to a hospital to be treated. Their injuries were not life-threatening, according to news reports, but their condition was not known as of midday Thursday.

The victims’ names were not released.

UPDATE: TEEN WHO DIED WAS CAL SCHOLARSHIP STUDENT

The 19-year-old who was killed in the accident on Highway 13 was Kevin Lacanlale of Silverdale, Washington, according to a KOMO News report. Lacanlale had won a prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship to attend the University of California at Berkeley and was pursuing a career in medicine.

Oakland Car Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Fatal car accident: An 81-year-old man was killed Wednesday when he pulled out of his driveway in Newcastle and was broadsided by an SUV.

• An elderly man pulled a Subaru out of a residential driveway into the path of an oncoming SUV.

• The SUV slammed into the driver’s side of the Subaru.

• The Subaru driver died at the scene and his passenger was airlfted to a hospital in critical condition.

• The SUV driver — who suffered minor injuries — was not at fault, the CHP said.

• The CHP said speed was not a factor. Neither were alcohol or drugs.

The deadly crash occurred at about 11 a.m., according to a report in the Sacramento Bee.

California Highway Patrol officer David Martinez said a Newcastle resident — later identified as David L. Fidler — was attempting to pull his Subaru Legacy out of his driveway and onto northbound Indian Hill Road right before the accident.

When Fidler turned left onto Indian Hill Road, he drove directly into the path of an oncoming Chevy Tahoe, driven by 20-year-old Joshua W. Newton of Auburn. The Chevy Tahoe slammed into the driver’s side of the Subaru and completely crushed it (see photo). Fidler died immediately.

A passenger in the Subaru, 76-year-old Lila Fidler, suffered catastrophic injuries, according to a report in the Auburn Journal. She was airlifted via helicopter to U.C. Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, where she was listed in critical condition.

Newton was taken to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, where he was treated and released. The nature and severity of his injuries was not disclosed.

Martinez said all three people were wearing seat belts. He added that neither speed, drugs, nor alcohol were contributing factors in the wreck.

The CHP investigation report indicated that Newton was not at fault. Martinez said no charges were expected to be filed.

Newcastle Car Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Authorities have not yet determined who is at fault in Saturday’s head-on car crash in Castro Valley that killed one driver and put the other driver in the hospital with major injuries.

• Two cars approached a sharp turn on Crow Canyon Road from opposite directions and crashed head-on.

• One of the drivers died. The other suffered major injuries.

• Police have not determined which vehicle crossed the double yellow line into the opposite traffic lane, so they do not yet know who was at fault.

The fatal accident occurred at 7:42 a.m., according to a report in the Hayward Daily Review‘s Castro Valley edition.

California Highway Patrol officer Daniel Jacowitz said 68-year-old Hanno Lind of Hayward was driving a 2008 Subaru Impreza northbound on Crow Canyon Road at the time of the accident.

At the same time, 50-year-old Mohsen Fahim of Danville was driving a 2003 Acura MDX southbound on Crow Canyon Road, Jacowitz said.

As the two vehicles attempted to negotiate a sharp curve south of Norris Canyon Road, one of them crossed the double yellow line in the center of the road, and the vehicles crashed head-on.

One of the two drivers was trapped in his vehicle. Alameda County firefighters had to use hydraulic rescue tools to free him, Jacowitz said.

Lind was transported to Eden Medical Center hospital in Castro Valley, where he died from injuries sustained in the accident. Fohim was taken to the same hospital with severe injuries. His condition was not known.

Fohim’s wife, 51-year-old Patty Fahim, was riding in the front passenger seat of the Acura. She sustained minor injuries.

Jacowitz said police have not yet determined which vehicle crossed over into the oncoming traffic lane, so they have not yet concluded which of the two drivers was at fault.

There was no indication that drugs or alcohol were involved in the crash.

How to Prevent Head-On Collisions

Rural two-lane roads — and backroads in suburban areas — often lack physical measures such as wide medians or barriers to separate opposing traffic flows. As a result, a major crash problem on these roads involves vehicles crossing the center line and either sideswiping an oncoming vehicle or crashing into it head-on.

These kinds of head-on collisions, in which one of the vehicles crosses the center line, result in about 4,500 fatalities every year in the United States.

One way that Caltrans and other state transportation departments are trying to help prevent these deadly accidents is by installing center-line rumble strips (see photo at right) that jar a vehicle — and make a loud noise — when they come into contact with tires.

According to a 2009 report published by the Federal Highway Administration, the strips significantly reduced crashes. Caltrans tracked a number of areas with high rates of head-on crashes. On one stretch of road, where these kinds of crashes occurred at a rate of 4.5 per month, the rate was reduced to 1.9 crashes after installing the strips.

Castro Valley Car Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.