Greenville woman dies in Highway 99 crash

A woman killed south of Yuba City on Highway 99 at Hutchinson Road was identified Tuesday by the Sutter County Coroner's Office as 53-year-old Martha Lynn Shower of Greenville in Plumas County.

Shower was killed instantly shortly after 3 p.m. Monday when a big rig crossed the centerline and collided head-on with the Volkswagen Passat she was driving.

Her husband, John Alden Shower, 66, also of Greenville, was a back seat passenger. He was taken to Rideout Memorial Hospital, where he was in stable condition Tuesday.

The Plumas County News reported John Shower was being treated for several broken bones.

A second passenger in the Passat, John Ritchie, 66, of Concord, was taken by helicopter to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, where he was listed Tuesday in critical condition. The newspaper reported he underwent surgery to remove a ruptured spleen and was being treated for a collapsed lung.

The Showers were on their way to Hawaii to visit their son, Michael, according to the newspaper.

Officer Jeff Larson, spokesman for the Yuba-Sutter office of the California Highway Patrol, said two witnesses to the accident remained to be interviewed.

"We have a ton of follow-up to do," Larson said.

The big-rig driver, 37-year-old Mario Prado of Orangevale, told the CHP he lost control after swerving to avoid a van that cut him off. Prado's account had not been verified as of Tuesday, said Larson.

Witnesses to the accident are asked to call the CHP at 674-5141.