Tiffany Revelle
Record-Bee staff
LAKE COUNTY ? The California Highway Patrol (CHP) responded to a plethora of major traffic accidents, starting with one late Thursday and continuing throughout the day Friday.
The first happened close to 7 p.m. on soda Bay Road west of Stone Drive when a drunk driver hit a tree, splitting his car in half. Antoine James Ellis, 39, was arrested for driving under the influence after he was released from Santa Rosa Memorial, where he was flown from the scene of the accident with what turned out to be minor injuries, according to CHP officer Josh Dye.
Ellis was reportedly driving at a high rate of speed in a 1987 Camaro eastbound on Soda Bay Road, when because of his high level of intoxication he drove into an orchard and hit a tree. He was booked into the Lake County Jail for DUI and parole violations, Dye said.
An early Friday morning collision shut down northbound traffic on Highway 29 for four hours, according to Dye, while PG&E worked to replace a power pole that was hit by a delivery truck.
The driver of the truck was flown to Santa Rosa memorial hospital. A heavy duty tow truck
was called to help recover the delivery truck while PG& E installed a new power pole.
Another collision occurred at Kits Corner at the intersection of highways 29 and 281 before that incident was cleaned up at approximately 11:30 a.m.
Dye reported that a pear truck hit a Toyota Corola that pulled out in front of it from Highway 281 to turn southbound onto Highway 29.
Headed south on Highway 29, the pear truck veered to the right but was not able to avoid a collision, states Dye. A female juvenile passenger was flown to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital as a precautionary measure.
Officers at the scene said the accident could have been much worse if not for the quick thinking of the pear truck”s driver, David Williams, 45, of Sacramento.
Three more accidents occurred throughout the day. Look for an update on those on a web update to post at approximately 11:00 p.m. or the print edition of the Record-Bee Saturday morning.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
