A Lake County woman was killed in a head-on collision Saturday morning that closed Highway 101 south of Ukiah for hours, the California Highway Patrol reported.
Wanda Shields, 67 of Nice, died in the two-vehicle accident. Two other people were badly hurt.
According to the CHP, a pair visiting from Washington State with an infant were driving in a 2004 Honda northbound on Highway 101 north of Geysers Road around 9:15 a.m. on Dec. 27 when the driver, identified as Xuan Zuo, 30, of Kirkland, reportedly swerved to avoid an object in the road and lost control of the car.
The Honda then crossed the center median and directly into the path of a 1998 Buick being driven southbound by Donald Shields, 74, of Nice. Wanda Shields was a passenger in the vehicle.
Donald Shields suffered major injuries and was airlifted from the scene to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
Zuo suffered minor injuries but his passenger, Jiapeng Lu, 33, also of Kirkland, suffered major injuries and was transported to Ukiah Valley Medical Center. The other passenger in the Honda, a seven-month-old boy, was not injured.
The collision is still under investigation, but alcohol is not believed to have been a factor. All occupants are believed to have been wearing their seatbelts.
The roadway was closed in both directions following the collision, with traffic being allowed through one direction at a time. The roadway was reopened completely by 1 p.m.
This was the second fatal accident in recent weeks in the region. A Willits resident identified as 67-year-old Helen A. Leslie was killed on Highway 20 on Dec. 18.
According to the CHP, Leslie was driving a 2004 Chrysler east on Hwy. 20 between Fort Bragg and Willits Dec. 18, and for an unknown reason made an unsafe turn and lost control of the car just west of Parlin Fork Camp Road, about nine miles west of Willits.
In addition, a 20-year-old Humboldt County woman was injured last week when her car rolled over on Highway 101 between Ukiah and Hopland, the California Highway Patrol reported.
The Loleta resident was southbound on Highway 101 in her blue, 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis around 7:45 a.m. Dec. 26 when she let the car drift onto the right shoulder just north of Nelson Ranch Road.
The CHP reported that when the tires hit the rumble strips, the noise awakened the driver and she overcorrected, losing control of the car and hitting a dirt embankment, which caused the car to overturn.
She suffered minor injuries as a result of the crash and was transported to Ukiah Valley Medical Center. She was the sole occupant of the vehicle.
The investigating officer determined that the driver had fallen asleep while driving, and that alcohol was not a factor.
