LUCERNE — Speed and slick conditions landed a car on its roof 25 feet down a rocky embankment Friday morning, and its driver in the hospital with minor injuries.
Nice resident Tiffany Cherry, 24, was driving her 1993 Acura Integra east on Highway 20 when she slid off of the southbound shoulder while navigating a left-hand curve.
“The road was wet, but it was not raining at the time,” California Highway Patrol officer Adam Garcia said. “It appears that she was just not taking into account the slippery road.” Garcia said Cherry was traveling between 55 and 60 miles per hour. Skid marks were visible on the southbound shoulder immediately following the curve, leading to where the car was found just before 9 a.m.
Cherry the only occupant, was taken to Sutter Lakeside Hospital with minor injuries. Garcia said she was not under the influence of alcohol.
“It”s been cloudy and now the sun”s out, but the roadway is still wet,” CHP officer Kevin Hildebrand said at the scene. “Always be careful.”
A sign cautioning drivers to slow down to 35 miles per hour is posted on the southbound shoulder of Highway 20 before the curve. The Acura slid off of Highway 20 just east of the gated community Paradise Cove.
The speed limit on that stretch of highway is 50 miles per hour.
“I get my most business from people not paying attention to the caution signs,” Frank Jones of Jones Towing said. “Unfortunately some of that business is fatalities, which we don”t want.”
Driving tips for rainy, foggy and snowy conditions at the CHP Web site, www.chp.ca.gov, include slowing down, using headlights to allow other cars to see you, and leaving extra distance between your car and the next.
Contact Tiffany Revelle at trevelle@record-bee.com.
