By Loretta Kalb
lkalb@sacbee.com
Two adults and a child were injured today after a small pickup truck slammed into a sports utility vehicle and overturned it as it was heading back onto Highway 50 from the shoulder, the California Highway Patrol reported.
CHP Officer Trevor Shields said the impact occurred about 10:30 a.m. on the shoulder of eastbound lanes of the freeway west of Mather Field Road after the driver of the pickup lost consciousness while traveling at between 55 mph and 65 mph.
The driver of the SUV, who had a child in the car with her, had just received a speeding ticket from the highway patrol and was in the process of driving away from the officer when she was hit from behind, Shields said.
He said the force of the impact knocked the SUV onto its left side.
Shields said there was no indication of drugs or alcohol. He said the pickup driver reported a medical condition that appeared to have caused his blackout while driving.
The pickup narrowly missed hitting the officer, who was walking back to his patrol car.
"We were lucky," Shields said. "It could have been much worse. It (the pickup) could have hit the officer and then continued on and hit her."
He said the investigation is ongoing.
Identities of the individuals involved were not immediately available. All three received minor injuries and were taken to area hospitals for medical treatment, Shields said.
Call The Bee's Loretta Kalb, (916) 321-1073.
Photo credit: Renée C. Byer. Photo caption: A car flipped with a little girl and her mother when it was struck by a pick-up truck, left, on eastbound Highway 50 west of Mather Field Road.
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