Runaway driver sought after several injured in crash
Incident reported near Sutter
Transported to UC Davis Medical Center were:
Jesus Abel-Trejo, 53, of Yuba City
Felix Basilio, 55, of Yuba City
Aaron Basilio-Cortez, 52, of Yuba City
Refugio Diaz, 31, of Olivehurst
Transported to Colusa Regional Medical Center were:
Teresa Ochoa-Olibarers, 47, of Marysville
Estella Cruz, 52, of Yuba City
Anna Gonzalez-Fergoso, 38, address unknown, was taken to Fremont Medical Center
All injuries were reported as minor.
Source: The California Highway Patrol.
The driver of a minivan with seven passengers inside ran away after a crash early Wednesday near Sutter, the California Highway Patrol said, and his passengers claim they don’t know who he is or what he looks like.
“What are the odds of that?” Officer Jodie Beck commented Wednesday.
Eight people were hospitalized with minor injuries in the two-car crash on Highway 20, west of Humphrey Road, including seven passengers from the 1998 Chevrolet Astro van, the CHP said.
The male driver fled the scene before emergency personnel arrived.
Olivehurst resident Celerino Tenorio, 46, was driving a 2000 Toyota pickup truck was heading west on Highway 20 and pull to the right shoulder and started to make a U-turn on the roadway. The minivan was behind the truck and the unidentified driver “did not have time to stop” before his vehicle T-boned the pickup, the CHP said.
The truck veered off into a roadside ditch on the east side of the road while the van went into another ditch on the west side.
“All occupants in both vehicles were wearing seatbelts and it’s unknown whether alcohol or drugs played a factor at this time,” the CHP said in a statement.
Beck said it was still unclear exactly who was at fault in the collision.
Officers could not release a description of the runaway driver because the passengers in the van all said they did not know the man’s name or what he looks like.
Passengers in the van were on their way to work on a Colusa County farm together, Beck said.
Tenorio was taken to Fremont Memorial Hospital with minor injuries.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the Yuba-Sutter California Highway Patrol at 674-5141.
CONTACT Rob Parsons at rparsons@appealdemocrat.com or 749-4785. Find him on Facebook at /ADcrimebeat or on Twitter at @ADcrimebeat.
