Alcohol suspected in road fatality

A Woodland man suspected of drunken driving in an accident that killed 41-year-old Tami Lynnette Young of Yuba City was in serious but stable condition Tuesday in the intensive care unit at U.C. Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Demetrio Gonzalez, 44, suffered two broken legs and was ejected from the 1993 GMC Yukon that hit Young's Volkswagen Beetle head-on, said Officer Randy Holmes of the Yuba-Sutter CHP office.

The collision occurred at 6:25 p.m. Monday on Highway 113 south of Knights Road, near Robbins.

It was still unclear Tuesday whether Gonzalez's license was valid or suspended, Holmes said.

Two passengers in the Yukon, Francisco Contreras and Augustacio De La Cruz, both of Woodland, "were not forthcoming" after the accident. Covered with dust and blood, they were "hiding in the crowd" that gathered after the three-vehicle collision and were pointed out, Holmes said.

One of the men had no identification and the other had "some type of ID." Both needed an interpreter when interviewed, he said.

Information on Gonzalez's blood alcohol concentration was not available.

"He will be arrested" at some point, Holmes said. "We're making sure he doesn't walk out of the hospital."

According to a CHP report, Young was traveling north when the southbound Yukon drifted across the centerline and sideswiped a Ford Focus driven by 95-year-old Frances L. Snavely of Robbins before hitting Young's car.

Young's car left the east side of the roadway and came to rest between two mobile homes. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Holmes said a man who identified himself as Young's boyfriend arrived on the scene while she was being given CPR.

Snavely had moderate injuries and was airlifted to the U.C. Davis Medical Center where she was in fair condition Tuesday.

"She's tough," Holmes said.

Gonzalez was not wearing a seat belt and neither were his passengers. All were taken by ambulance to the medical center. The passengers' injuries were described as moderate.

Young and Snavely both have clean driving records and were wearing seat belts, Holmes said.

A friend of Young's since high school days, David Garcia, said in a phone interview from his home in Athens, Ga., that Young was working as a dental technician in Davis or Woodland. She probably was on her way home from work, he said.

Young had two daughters, one 18 and one in her early teens, living at home. Other family members live in the Yuba City area, he said.

Young graduated from Yuba City High School in about 1986, said Garcia, who graduated from Marysville High School the previous year. They reconnected nine years ago.

"She was a beautiful individual who loved everybody and had a zest for life," Garcia said. Four-wheeling and staying at a family cabin in the mountains were among her favorite activities, he said.

"She hounded me for the past nine months to come and visit me in Athens," Garcia said.

Now, Garcia said, he'll be returning to Yuba City for her funeral.

Arrangements had not been announced as of Tuesday.