Sacto 9-1-1

About 57,000 drivers were ticketed for handheld cell phone talking and texting during an April crackdown by the California Highway Patrol and other police agencies.

The California Office of Traffic Safety notes the 57,000 tickets matches the number handed out the year before. The average number of tickets handed out in a non-distracted driving awareness month is 36,000.

While the ticket numbers are the same, the percentage of drivers actively using cell phones at any one time in the state dropped from 10.8 percent in 2012 to 7.4 percent this year. Those figures are compiled during a March observation survey.

A man in a wheelchair died when he was struck by a car early this morning in Sacramento.

Police received a call of a person struck by a car at about 1:30 a.m. today at 19th and X streets. Police and fire personnel responded.

The man in his 50s was declared dead at the scene.

A witness told officers that the man in the wheelchair was in the street when a car traveling eastbound on X Street struck him. Sacramento police said in an activity log that the man in the wheelchair was not in a crosswalk and was going against a red light when crossing X Street.
The car was described as a white two-door Honda or Acura. The motorist did not stop.

A Yuba City woman died and two other people were injured this morning in a collision on Highway 20, northeast of Marysville.

Tania H. Fox, 47, was driving a 1997 Dodge Neon westbound on Highway 20, approaching Plantz Road about 7:50 a.m., when for some reason the vehicle left the roadway, according to a California Highway Patrol news release. Fox apparently overcorrected, steering her vehicle into oncoming eastbound traffic, where it was struck broadside on the passenger side by a 2002 Ford Crown Victoria driving by Robert L. Lugo, 47, also of Yuba City.

Lugo applied his brakes, but was unable to avoid hitting the Neon, which continued to travel down an embankment on the south side of Highway 20, where it came to rest facing east, according to the CHP.

A Reno man who led CHP officers on a high-speed chase on Interstate 80 died this afternoon after crashing into a roadwork area and injuring two California Conservation Corps workers.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Pete Mann said the CHP was advised about 1:41 p.m. to be on the lookout for a reckless driver on eastbound I-80 in the Dutch Flat area. He said an officer from the CHP's Gold Run station spotted a speeding BMW in the Yuba Gap area and attempted to pull it over, but the driver failed to stop and a pursuit began.

The BMW, traveling at speeds in excess of 100 mph, continued eastbound to the Truckee area and then into Truckee proper, where the driver exited at Donner Pass Road, continued across the overpass, then re-entered I-80, heading westbound.

A teenage pedestrian was knocked unconscious when struck by a car this morning in Woodland.

Woodland police officers responded to the East Gum Avenue and Kate Lane about 7:20 a.m. today where the 15 year old was down on the roadway. Near the boy was a four-door sedan that police said was involved in the traffic crash.

The teen was transported by ambulance to UC Davis Medical Center. The driver of the sedan did not suffer any injury, according to a police press release.

No further information was immediately available, police said. Anyone who witnessed the crash is asked to call the traffic division at (530) 661-7880.

A woman convicted of of drunken driving in a collision that injured two bicyclists in El Dorado Hills in 2008 is back in jail after nearly two years as a fugitive.

Brandi Morgan Thomas, 24, was driving under the influence of alcohol in 2008 when she swerved into the bicycle lane and struck two female bicyclists, who suffered major injuries. In March 2009, Thomas was convicted and sentenced to seven years in state prison. Her sentence was suspended and she was granted five years formal probation, which included the requirement that she "obey all laws," according to an El Dorado County District Attorney's Office news release.

In August 2011, Thomas was arrested on suspicion of several felonies, including burglary, forgery and conspiracy to commit a crime. She then fled the county and had been a fugitive until she was located last month in Michigan.

Sacramento police would like to talk to anyone who witnessed a collision this afternoon in which a vehicle struck a pedestrian.

A woman was headed southbound across Arden Way at Oxford Street about 1:40 p.m. when she was hit by a vehicle. She suffered serious injuries and is being treated at an area hospital, according to a Police Department news release.

The driver of the vehicle, who remained at the scene, as well as witnesses reported that an uninvolved vehicle had to slow to avoid the pedestrian. The driver of that vehicle may or may not have known that a collision occurred. Police said the vehicle is believed to have been eastbound on Arden Way in the left lane. No description of the vehicle was available, but police would like to talk with the driver.

A name of a motorcycle passenger who was ejected from the vehicle during a lane-splitting stop has been released.

The Sacramento County Coroner's office has identified her as Snezhana Pavlova, 20, of Sacramento.

The fatal incident occurred at about 4 p.m. Saturday on Antelope Road, west of Roseville Road, according to a California Highway Patrol incident report.

A driver in a fiery crash off of Highway 50 at Bass Lake Road died at the scene this morning.

The California Highway Patrol reported that he motorist was traveling in a car about 2 a.m. this morning on eastbound Highway 50 approaching Bass Lake Road. The car veered off the roadway, traveling on the dirt between the highway lanes and the offramp pavement.

The car then continued down to Bass Lake Road where it crossed the street and crashed into a dirt embankment. The car caught fire and the driver died.

Neither the name nor the gender of the driver was immediately released.

A 71-year-old woman died in a head-on collision Wednesday night on Howe Avenue in the Arden Arcade area.

The crash occurred about 9:30 p.m. as the woman was driving a white 2012 Nissan Versa southbound on Howe, approaching the intersection with Northrop Avenue, when her vehicle veered to the left and into the opposing lanes, according to a California Highway Patrol news release. As she entered the intersection, her vehicle struck the front of a gray 2006 Acura TSX that was traveling northbound on Howe Avenue.

Fire Department personnel found the woman unresponsive and she was transported to Sutter Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

The driver booked following a crash that claimed the life of a 69-year-old Roseville man Tuesday has been identified as an attorney and a faculty member at California State University, Sacramento.

A spokeswoman for CSUS confirmed that Jordan Tonya Louise Peters, 45, is an associate professor in the university's College of Business Administration. According the CSUS website, Peters is also a practicing attorney who represents employers in employment litigation matters.

Peters was arrested by Roseville police Tuesday and booked into Placer County Jail on suspicion of of gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence of drugs after the vehicle she was driving allegedly triggered a chain-reaction collision in which one person was killed and three others were injured.

One person has died and another has been arrested following a crash this afternoon on Pleasant Grove Boulevard in Roseville.

At 3:41 p.m., officers responded to a collision on eastbound Pleasant Grove Boulevard between Pioneer Road and Roseville Parkway. Police said preliminary information from officers at the scene indicate that a vehicle had been seen being driven in an erratic manner on Pleasant Grove Boulevard from Washington Boulevard eastbound, until it struck another eastbound vehicle that was stopped for a red light at Roseville Parkway, setting off a chain-reaction collision involving five or six vehicles.

Four people were transported to the hospital, and one, a 69-year-old man who was a passenger in one of the vehicles, has died, said Police Department spokeswoman Dee Dee Gunther. She said the man's wife was seriously injured. One other person also was seriously injured and another complained of pain. Gunther said the driver of the vehicle that started the chain reaction was not injured and has been arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs.

The eastbound lanes of Pleasant Grove Boulevard between Gold Coast-Hallissey Drive and East Roseville Parkway are expected to remain closed into the evening while police investigate the collision. Motorists are advised to avoid the area and take alternate routes.

The California Highway Patrol reported that is unknown if a man who fell from the Northgate Boulevard overcrossing on Saturday onto Interstate 80 died from the drop to the pavement or from being run over by vehicles.

The CHP said that the 66-year-old man from West Sacramento parked his vehicle on Northgate Boulevard overcrossing about 5:20 a.m. Saturday. A CHP press release said for unknown reasons the man fell from the overcrossing onto a lane of westbound I-80.

One vehicle hit the man and continued on its way. Several other vehicles then struck the man.

The man, whose name has not been released pending notification of family, died at the scene.

A Fairfield man has been arrested after a passenger in his car died from injuries suffered when the vehicle slammed into a tree along Northgate Boulevard.

Sir Von Church, 33, was booked on suspicion of manslaughter, driving under the influence and driving on a suspended license.

The California Highway Patrol said that Church was driving his Camaro on Northgate Boulevard, south of West Stadium Lane, at a high rate of speed about 3:30 a.m. Sunday when the car drifted to the right. His car left the roadway, hit a tree and the impact split the car in half.

A passenger in the car, Christopher Lee Daniels, 29, of Sacramento, was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the Camaro. Daniels was pronounced dead at the scene.

Church suffered minor injuries. He was booked into jail after treatment.

A bicyclist told Sacramento police he was knocked to the street by a motorist in a sharing-the-road dispute.

The beef between the bicyclist and motorist occurred on a street in Oak Park about 3:30 p.m. Monday. The male bicyclist and the female driver were traveling in the same direction on 37th Street.

The bicyclist was trying to make his way around a parked car as he was being passed on the left by the motorist. The bicyclist believed that the driver was not sharing the roadway, passing very close.

Words were exchanged and the motorist eventually circled back around, again traveling alongside the bicyclist on Ninth Avenue. At that point, the bicyclist believes the motorist intentional struck him.

He was knocked to the pavement, suffering minor injuries. The description of the car was only given as a gray, four-door vehicle.

One man died and two women were injured in a single-vehicle crash Friday morning on Highway 50 just east of Red Hawk Parkway in El Dorado County.

Officer Dan Stark of the California Highway Patrol said the crash occurred about 11:05 a.m. when a 1996 Toyota Corolla eastbound on Highway 50 in the fast lane for unknown reasons drifted onto the center median. The vehicle over-corrected, hit a rock face on the right hand shoulder and overturned, according to police.

Vincent Rapolla, 19, riding in the back seat, was ejected through the rear window. Stark said the man was pronounced dead at the scene and had not been wearing a seat belt.

The driver, 25-year-old Laura Duggin, was transported by helicopter to Mercy San Juan Medical Center and is in critical condition.

Family members told the CHP that Duggin was several weeks pregnant, Stark said.

Ashley Valdez, 18, who was riding in the front seat, was transported by ambulance to UC Davis Medical Center with moderate injuries.

The three were residents of Diamond Springs. Drugs and alcohol do not appear to be a factor in the accident, but the cause is still under investigation, Stark said.

One person was killed and several were injured when multiple cars slammed together at the intersection of Folsom and Sunrise Boulevards in Rancho Cordova just before 11:15 p.m. Friday, police said.

Authorities said the accident was triggered when a Volvo sedan traveling westbound on Folsom Boulevard at "an extremely high rate of speed," collided with a Range Rover SUV traveling southbound through the intersection.

The collision then initiated a chain reaction, causing three other cars to be struck, according to reports.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: Can you shed some light on the investigation of the death of Auxiliary Bishop Gallegos on Highway 99?
Submitted by: Gabriele, Carmichael

ANSWER: Auxiliary Bishop Alphonse Gallegos died the night of Oct. 6, 1991, in a traffic collision on a dark stretch of Highway 99 north of Yuba City.

A country road south of Marysville will be closed the rest of the day after a motorist swerved to avoid a coyote, only to break off a power pole.

The California Highway Patrol said that Pardeep Bal and his three passengers were traveling northbound at 60 mph on George Washington Boulevard south of Best Road when a coyote crossed the road in front of him.

Bal's evasive maneuver caused him to lose control of his car and strike a power pole guy wire, a cable used to brace the pole. The top of the pole sheared clear of the bottom and remained suspended in the air by live electrical lines.

Authorities say three people were injured, two seriously, when an SUV driven by a woman in her 70s plowed into a restaurant's outdoor seating area in Auburn, according to an Associated Press report.

The incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. Monday at Tio Pepe in the Placer County city.

Police told local TV stations in Sacramento one man who was eating on the patio of the Mexican restaurant became pinned under the SUV. Two other people were also injured and taken to hospitals.

Police are investigating what caused the crash.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What ever happened in the case of the two teens that were racing on Iron Point Road in Folsom one morning many years ago when they crashed into a woman pulling out of the Factory Outlets, killing her? I do remember that one teen was driving a brand-new sporty car his parents bought for him, and when police arrived the boys were trying to remove an expensive radio from his crashed car, rather than trying to help the injured woman.
Submitted by: Steve, Folsom

ANSWER: Two teenage drivers were ordered to spend six months in juvenile hall for gross vehicular manslaughter in the January 2007 death of 53-year-old Susan McNew of Shingle Springs.

An early morning car crash in Greenhaven took a wild turn when the driver reportedly nearly missed striking a police officer, and then led officers on a brief chase with the pole and a street sign still perched on the top of the car, Sacramento police said.

Officers responded to a call about a vehicle colliding with a city light pole in the 6700 block of Greenhaven Drive about 1 a.m. They found the car with the driver still seated inside and the pole lying across the top of the vehicle, police said.

The driver first attempted to get out of the passenger door, then got back into the driver's seat and tried to drive away, officer said. The car backed into the parked patrol car, and an officer had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit, police reports said.

A good Samaritan who lost his life as he tried to aid a crash victim on Interstate 80 was described by his boss as a "good family guy" and a man with a great spirit.

Jeff Hohle, owner of Castlewood Cabinets in Dixon, said Spencer West Myers, 36, of Vacaville was on his way to work Thursday morning when he stopped to aid a motorist whose car had overturned on eastbound I-80. Hohle said such actions were typical of Myers.

"He was an all-round good guy," Hohle said. "He was just that one notch above."

A man who died Tuesday night as he walked across Fair Oaks Boulevard has been identified by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office as Veniamin Pekun, 39, of Carmichael.

A 54-year-old Carmichael woman was driving a 2001 red Ford Mustang westbound on Fair Oaks Boulevard east of Marshall Avenue about 9:15 p.m. She was traveling about 40 mph when Veniamin began to walk across the roadway directly in front of the Ford, according to a California Highway Patrol news release.

The Ford struck Pekun, causing him to be thrown into the left lane of eastbound Fair Oaks Boulevard. A second car, driven by a 56-year-old man from Fair Oaks, was unable to avoid hitting him.

CHP officials said Pekun was not crossing in a crosswalk. They said it is not known whether alcohol or drugs contributed to the incident pending a toxicology report. The collision is still under investigation.

A man who tried to render aid to a woman upside down in her car on Interstate 80 near Dixon this morning has died.

The crash occurred about 5 a.m. on eastbound I-80 just west of Dixon Avenue when a Fairfield woman lost control of her car. The Toyota Camry flipped and the woman was held upside down by the car's seatbelt in the driver's seat on the darkened freeway.

A Vacaville man, seeking to help the woman, pulled his car to the center divider just past the flipped car. When he went to the overturned car to get the woman out, another car came along and struck the flipped Camry, killing the good Samaritan.

The eastbound lanes of the freeway were shut down for a time for a helicopter ambulance to take the injured man to UC Davis Medical Center. A CHP officer said the man died from his injuries.

The driver in the overturned Camry suffered serious injuries. The California Highway Patrol is investigating exactly why she lost control of her car.

A woman who died Friday afternoon when she was struck by a Union Pacific train has been identified by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office as 23-year-old Jennifer Oakes.

Oakes' community of residence was not listed on the coroner's website.

According to Union Pacific spokesman Aaron Hunt, the accident occurred about 3 p.m. Friday south of Highway 50 near the Folsom Boulevard crossing, near California State University, Sacramento. The freight train was southbound when the woman was spotted standing on the tracks.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office has identified a motorcyclist who died Monday morning in a collision with a school bus as Travis Brian Percival, 33, of Sacramento.

According to the California Highway Patrol, which investigates incidents involving school buses, Percival was riding a 2007 Kawasaki motorcycle westbound on San Juan Road, east of Tumbleweed Way in South Natomas about 6:45 a.m. A school bus belonging to the Twin Rivers Unified School District was stopped on southbound Tumbleweed Way at San Juan Road.

As the bus driver began to make a left turn onto eastbound San Juan, Percival changed lanes, moving from the right lane to the left lane, and collided with the right side of the bus, according to a CHP news release.

A 19-year-old Garden Valley woman died this morning in a head-on collision on Lotus Road in rural El Dorado County.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Quinn Cuthbertson said the woman was driving a silver Ford Focus southbound on Lotus Road south of Highway 49 near Coloma about 8:30 a.m. when for an unknown reason she crossed into the northbound lane, into the path of a white Ford Explorer.

Cuthbertson said the driver of the Focus did not appear to have been wearing a seat belt and suffered fatal injuries. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Her name has not been released pending notification of family.

The California Highway Patrol has released details in the deaths of a motorcyclist and his passenger that occurred in a collision with a car Saturday night in Fair Oaks.

The CHP said that Christopher J. Bartish, 34, of Citrus Heights was riding a motorcycle southbound on San Juan Avenue north of Palm Avenue abut 9:30 p.m. Saturday. Riding on the back of the motorcycle was Brandi Anzaldua, 34, of Citrus Heights.

A motorist in a Toyota Corolla was headed northbound on San Juan Avenue in the two-way left turn lane. As Toyota driver almost completed her turn onto Palm Avenue, the motorcycle struck the right front of the car, according a CHP press release.

Both helmeted riders on the motorcycle were thrown from their vehicle. Bartish was pronounced dead at the scene. Anzaldua was transported to the hospital where she later died from her injuries.

The Toyota driver and her passenger suffered minor-to-moderate injuries. The collision is under investigation.

Caltrans workers are installing "Move Over" signs statewide today in an effort to protect highway workers and California Highway Patrol officers.

The new signs will display the messages "Move Over or Slow for Stopped Emergency and Maintenance Vehicles" and "Move Over or Slow When Amber Lights Flashing." Signs will be at the Elkhorn on-ramp on southbound Interstate 5, at Gold Run on Interstate 80 and Pollock Pines on Highway 50.

"Every day, highway workers put their lives in danger just by going to work," said Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty.

A motorcyclist died when his vehicle crashed into a school bus this morning in the Natomas area.

Few details are available yet on how the crash occurred. The California Highway Patrol, which handles school bus accidents, reported that at about 7 a.m. the school bus with students aboard collided with the motorcycle on San Juan near Tumbleweed Way.

The motorcyclist died at the scene. Neither the students nor the bus driver were injured.

A woman died this afternoon when she was struck by a Union Pacific freight train as she stood on tracks just south of Highway 50, about a quarter mile from the Folsom Boulevard crossing, near California State University, Sacramento.

Aaron Hunt, a spokesman for Union Pacific, said the accident occurred about 3 p.m. The train was southbound when the woman was spotted standing on the tracks. Hunt said the crew initiated the process to stop the train but was unable to bring it to a stop in time to avoid hitting the woman. He noted that a train typically travels about a mile before coming to a halt.

The woman was declared dead at the scene by emergency medical personnel.

The Yolo County coroner's office has released the name of the man who was run over by his truck tractor at a West Sacramento trucking company yard.

He was identified as Vitali Dobic, 36, of Sacramento.

Police and California Highway Patrol officers responded to an industrial accident in the 3000 block of Evergreen Avenue about 11 a.m. Wednesday. When they arrived, officers found a semi-tractor that appeared to have crashed through a chain-link fence of the business. It had stopped at the side of Interstate 80, just west of the Harbor Boulevard entrance, said West Sacramento police spokesman Lt. Tod Sockman.

Dobic was pinned under the tractor, which was still running. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Dobic was an employee of the trucking company and the tractor was assigned to him. Sockman said it was not unusual for someone to be in the trucking yard alone, and there were no witnesses to the incident.

The Sacramento County Coroner's office has released the name of a bicyclist hit when he rode into the path of a Regional Transit light-rail train in Folsom on Wednesday.

He was identified as Michael Higgins, 48, of Folsom.

Folsom police spokesman Sgt. Jason Browning said the light-rail train had just left the station at Glenn Drive and Folsom Boulevard about 3:30 p.m., headed for Sacramento. As it crossed Parkshore Drive at Folsom Boulevard, Higgins rode into its path and was struck by the train.

Browning said a preliminary investigation indicates that Higgins was westbound on the the south side of Parkshore, riding on the wrong side of the road, against traffic. He said the bicyclist apparently ignored the crossing arms and bells warning of the approaching train and continued onto the tracks.

A bicyclist died this afternoon when he was struck by a Regional Transit light-rail train in Folsom.

Folsom police spokesman Sgt. Jason Browning said the light-rail train had just left the station at Glenn Drive and Folsom Boulevard about 3:30 p.m., headed for Sacramento. As it crossed Parkshore Drive at Folsom Boulevard, a bicyclist rode into its path and collided with the front of the train.

Browning said a preliminary investigation indicates the bicyclist, a male adult, was westbound on the the south side of Parkshore, riding on the wrong side of the road, against traffic. He said the man apparently ignored the crossing arms and bells warning of the approaching train and continued onto the tracks.

Folsom Police report a fatal collision between a cyclist and a Regional Transit light-rail train at Parkshore Drive and Folsom Boulevard.

No other details were immediately available.

Return to www.sacbee.com for updates.

West Sacramento police are trying to determine how a truck tractor ran over a 36-year-old man this morning at a local trucking company yard.

Police and California Highway Patrol officers responded to an industrial accident in the 3000 block of Evergreen Avenue about 11 a.m. When they arrived, officers found a semi-tractor that appeared to have crashed through a chain-link fence of the business. It had stopped at the side of Interstate 80, just west of the Harbor Boulevard entrance, said West Sacramento police spokesman Lt. Tod Sockman.

The man was pinned under the tractor, which was still running. Sockman said the victim was pronounced dead at the scene.

An unhelmeted bicyclist wearing earphones in Yuba County suffered major injuries when she turned into the path of an oncoming pickup despite the cries of her sister to watch out, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Brittany M. Bowers, 21, of Olivehurst was on a bicycle on a ride south on Garden Avenue approaching Arboga Road about 7:30 p.m. Tuesday. While waiting for her sister and friend, she turned circles on the roadway, according to a CHP press release.

Bowers failed to hear her sister screaming that a truck was approaching. The driver saw the bicyclist but, as he approached, she turned into the path of his truck, according to the CHP.

Bowers suffered a broken leg, a lacerated liver and other injuries, according to the press release.

The California Highway Patrol said that a U-turn and a passing pickup resulted in the fatal crash over the weekend on a country road between Ione and Rancho Murieta.

Gerard Sprague, 19, of Concord died at UC Davis Medical Center from injuries suffered in the crash. Two others suffered major injuries.

The CHP said that Sprague was a passenger in a car driven by Adam S. Vanlandingham, 20, of Pittsburg, Contra Costa County, southbound on Ione Road, just south of Carbondale Road, early Saturday morning.

Jeffrey P. Allgeyer, 48, of Ione, approaching in the same direction, saw Vanlandingham's car stopped, according to the CHP. Vanlandingham was about to make a U-turn.

Allgeyer's pickup truck began to pass the car in the northbound lane when Vanlandingham started a U-turn, causing a violent crash of the pickup into the driver's side of his car, according to the CHP.

Vanlandingham, Sprague and another passenger in the car, Xavier D. Ward, 21, of Pittsburg, suffered major injuries. Sprague died later that same day.

Allgeyer suffered minor injuries. The CHP said only the drivers of the vehicles were wearing seatbelts.

The collision is still under investigation.

A woman has died from injuries suffered when she was hit by a car while crossing a street in Arden Arcade.

The California Highway Patrol said that Laura Barnes, 54, of North Highlands was crossing Watt Avenue near Barberry Lane about 8:30 p.m. Sunday when she was stuck by a car traveling southbound at about 35 mph.

The CHP said that that Barnes suffered major injuries and was transported to UC Davis Medical Center. She died the next day.

The CHP said that Barnes was not within a marked crosswalk.

A Rancho Cordova man died early Sunday morning after he reportedly lost control of his car on Auburn Folsom Road in Placer County.

Matthew Bohling, 29, was driving a blue Honda Civic northbound on Auburn Folsom Road about 1:57 a.m., approaching Eagle View Lane, when he lost control of the vehicle, traveled across the southbound lanes and off the roadway, according to a California Highway Patrol news release.

After leaving the roadway, the Honda struck two concrete poles, a fire hydrant and a tree, officials said. Bohling was pronounced dead at the scene by South Placer Fire District personnel.

CHP officials said the cause of the crash is under investigation, and it has not been determined whether alcohol or drugs were factors.

The name of the driver killed Thursday when his vehicle hit a tree along the Capital City Freeway near Arden Way has been released by the Sacramento County Coroner's office.

He was identified as Roberto Meza Ayon, 59, of Winton, Merced County.

The motorist was apparently traveling eastbound on the Capital City Freeway about 7 a.m. on wet roadway. Ayon's vehicle ended up near the westbound side in the center divide.

Ayon's vehicle hit a tree in the center divide, backing traffic up in the commute on the westbound side of the freeway.

A big rig crash has backed up the morning commune on Interstate 5.

Read more: Fatal crash into tree along Cap City freeway during morning commute

The crash of a big rig has stalled traffic in both directions on Interstate 5 in South Sacramento. The crash occurred about 6:30 a.m. just south of Seamas Avenue when the truck crashed into a center divider.

Both southbound and northbound traffic was still slow through the area at 8:45 a.m. as lanes were closed to clear the wreckage.

The California Highway Patrol said a fatal collision occurred on the Capital City Freeway near Arden Way this morning.

Read more: I-5 big rig crash slows morning commute

The motorist was apparently traveling eastbound on the Capital City freeway about 7 a.m. on wet roadway. The vehicle in which the motorist died ended up near the westbound side in the center divider.

The motorist's vehicle hit a tree in the center divider. Traffic was backed up at 8:15 a.m. on the southbound side of the freeway.

A motorist was killed Wednesday night in collision at an intersection near Sacramento's River Park neighborhood.

The crash involving a tow truck and a small pickup occurred about 6:30 p.m. at Carlson Drive and H street. The tow truck was northbound on Carlson and the pickup was westbound on H Street, according to Sacramento police.

The tow truck struck the pickup on the driver's side door. The driver of the pickup, Denis James Tomassetti, 60, of Sacramento, died from injuries suffered in the crash. Tomasetti worked for The Bee in the finance and circulation departments from 1977 to 1992. His wife, Mary Rhea Breen, currently works in finance for The Bee.

Auburn police say that a motorcyclist was killed last night on Highway 49 when his vehicle hit a pickup truck.

Police responded about 7 p.m. Tuesday to Highway 49 in the American River Canyon about three-quarters of a mile south of Borland Avenue. The injured motorcyclist was flown by helicopter to Sutter Roseville Medical Center where he was later pronounced dead.

The Placer County coroner's office identified the motorcyclist as Troy Carl Arter, 45, of Auburn.

The driver of the truck was not injured. Auburn police said a preliminary investigation revealed that the motorcycle, traveling northbound, crossed over into southbound oncoming traffic.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What is the status of the case against Tresa Bales-Sterba of Orangevale, who is accused of hitting two brothers in a crosswalk with her car last October in Citrus Heights?
Submitted by: Tim, Folsom

ANSWER: Tresa Bales-Sterba is free on bail as her case makes its way through the court process.

Coroners identified the teenager killed in an early Saturday morning vehicle crash near Arden Fair Mall as Augustin Valdovinos Ocampo, 19, of Sacramento.

California Highway Patrol officers said the teen was driving a 1994 Nissan pickup truck westbound on Arden Way, east of Bell Street, when it crossed into the eastbound lanes and struck a Chevrolet truck.

Ocampo was pronounced dead at the scene, said CHP reports. The driver of the other vehicle was transported to a local hospital for treatment of serious injuries.

The California Highway Patrol has released the name of the truck driver involved in the fiery wreck on Interstate 80 near Davis on Thursday as John Manuszak, 45, of Fresno.

Earlier in the day, authorities identified the two people killed in the accident.

The driver was identified as Phang Phetsomphou, 76, and the passenger was Bouaket Phetsomphou, 74, the Solano County Sheriff-Coroner's Office reports. Both were from Petaluma.

The CHP reopened Interstate 80's westbound lanes nearly seven hours after they were closed Thursday morning.

A lane of westbound Interstate 80 is blocked this morning while emergency crews clean up pool supplies spilled when a pickup truck overturned this morning.

The crash occurred about 4 a.m. when the driver lost control of his truck on I-80 just west of Antelope Road. The driver veered to the left and struck the center divider, causing the vehicle to overturn and then land back on its wheels, according to California Highway Patrol officer Rich Wetzel.

The driver was not badly injured. His truck was carrying pools supplies, consisting of dry chlorine and muriatic acid.

Fire department personnel worked through the morning to remove the contents. Traffic was slow on westbound I-80 at 7 a.m.

There was no estimate when the fast lane on westbound I-80 at the site of the spill would be re-opened.

One person died this evening after a vehicle crashed west of Smartsville in Yuba County and caught fire.

Officer J. Bice of the California Highway Patrol said the single vehicle crash was reported about 6:10 p.m. on Timbuctoo Road, on the east side of the Yuba River, northeast of the Parks Bar Bridge. He said a passer-by had spotted smoke.

The vehicle was found 150 to 200 feet off the roadway on some rocks at the water's edge. Bice said it had been consumed by fire.

A 23-year-old Sacramento man died after the all-terrain vehicle he was riding on a street in McClellan Park early Sunday struck a block wall.

The crash occurred at 1:25 a.m. as the man was riding a Bombardier ATV four-wheeler north on Arnold Drive just north of Howard Street. For unknown reasons, the ATV traveled off the roadway and struck a cinder block wall, according to a California Highway Patrol news release.

The rider suffered fatal injuries. His name has not been released pending notification of family.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.

A 52-year-old Carmichael man died and his 16-year-old son was seriously injured Tuesday night when the motorcycle they were riding collided with a van on Fair Oaks Boulevard.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office identified the father as Martin M. Madson.

The crash occurred about 7:38 p.m. as Elmira Atarbekyan, 51, of Sacramento, driving a green 2000 Toyota Sienna, was pulling out from a private driveway on the west side of Fair Oaks Boulevard, just south of Marconi Avenue, according to a California Highway Patrol news release. The motorcycle, a 2000 Harley Davidson, was southbound in the left lane.

One person is dead and another injured after a motorcycle and a van collided at Fair Oaks Boulevard and Marconi Avenue in Carmichael.

The crash was reported at 7:38 p.m.

Rashawn Fulcher, a spokesman for the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District, said two people were on the motorcycle. One died and the other was transported to a local hospital.

Fulcher said no one in the van was injured seriously enough to require treatment at a hospital.

No information was immediately available on the cause of the accident.

A driver and passenger were treated for minor injuries this afternoon after their SUV crashed into a building in a Fair Oaks shopping center.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District crews were called to the Raley's shopping center shortly after noon. An elderly couple had been parking their vehicle in front of the building when the vehicle accelerated and crashed through the glass front of one shop, through the wall of a vacant unit and then into a third unit, according to a fire district news release. The SUV came to rest with its front end inside Rims Deli.

Although the three commercial units suffered significant damage, no one was seriously hurt, according to fire officials. Fire crews treated the driver and passenger for minor injuries.

Police activity around Sunrise Mall on Saturday night involved a chase of suspected auto burglars.

Citrus Heights police said that a citizen noticed two people breaking into cars in the mall parking lot about 8:30 p.m. Saturday. Officers saw a car driven by Anthony Shane Junkin, 25, leave the scene and head eastbound on Greenback Lane.

Police said Junkin sideswiped a car at Greenback Lane and Illinois Avenue in Orangevale. Junkin and a passenger, Marcus Culbertson, 28, abandoned their vehicle and fled on foot.

A perimeter was set up and one of the men was found in a nearby backyard, the other walking away from the scene. Both men were booked into jail.

Junkin was arrested on suspicion of evading an officer, drug possession, hit and run, violation of probation and resisting an officer. Police said Culbertson was arrested on suspicion of evading an officer.

Traffic through midtown Sacramento has been blocked this evening by a stalled Union Pacific train.

Sacramento Police Department spokesman Officer Doug Morse said the train hit an unoccupied car, but it has been further delayed by concerns about pedestrians climbing between rail cars to get across the tracks.

He said efforts were being made to ensure that the area was clear so the train could safely proceed.

The name of the man who was hit and killed by a car Thursday morning when crossing Auburn Boulevard has been released by the Sacramento County Coroner's office.

He was identified as Nikolay Gorkavchuk, 87, of Sacramento.

Sacramento police said Gorkavchuk was not in a crosswalk when he walked across Auburn Boulevard just east of Watt Avenue about 6:30 a.m. Thursday. A car heading westbound hit him.

Police said the driver stopped and rendered aid to Gorkavchuk.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In mid-March of this year, a woman who was coming home from her job at a local casino in the morning crashed and died in West Sacramento from her brakes failing, the CHP was investigating. Do you know what became of that investigation? Did the brakes indeed fail, or was it driver error?
Submitted by: Rick, Sacramento

ANSWER: The cause of the March 13 crash is still under investigation.

A man was hit and killed by a car this morning when crossing Auburn Boulevard, according to Sacramento police.

The man in his 60s was not in a crosswalk when he walked across Auburn Boulevard just east of Watt Avenue about 6:30 a.m. A car heading westbound hit the man.

A Sacramento police spokeswoman said it does not appear that the driver was drinking or speeding. The driver stopped to render cardio-pulmonary resuscitation.

The pedestrian's body was still in a westbound lane of Auburn Boulevard at 9 a.m. and traffic was being detoured around the scene.

A car was hit by a train in southeast Sacramento early this morning, blocking Power Inn Road for a time.

The car was struck by the train just north of Fruitridge Boulevard. Power Inn Road opened again by 7 a.m.

Sacramento police said nobody was injured in the crash that involved a Union Pacific Railroad freight train. The driver abandoned the car on the tracks before the crash.

The name of the woman who drowned last week inside a vehicle that went into the Sacramento River has been released.

The Yolo County Coroner's office identified her as Mussarat Parveen Shaudhary, 58, of West Sacramento.

A CHP 911 dispatcher spent about 10 minutes on the phone with Shaudhary, who called to report that she was inside a vehicle that had gone into the river off Old River Road.

Shaudhary worked at Cache Creek Casino and is believed to have been on her way home to West Sacramento when she phoned her daughter and said she didn't think the brakes on her car were working.

At 8:11 a.m. Wednesday, the CHP dispatch center received a call from Shaudhary, who said she was inside the car in the river.

Shaudhary's vehicle was found about 2:30 p.m. near Monument Bend, about a quarter-mile downstream from where it was thought to have entered the river. Her body was found inside.

A pedestrian walking on a Placer County road near Lincoln Thursday night was struck and killed by a car.

Candido Perez Jr., 33, of Roseville, was walking in the southbound lane of Industrial Avenue near Athens Avenue about 10:15 p.m. Thursday when he was hit by a car traveling at about 55 mph.

The driver swerved in an attempt to avoid Perez, who was walking with his back to traffic. Perez was pronounced dead at the scene.

The California Highway Patrol said it is not known why Perez was walking in the roadway.

The identity of a woman who was struck and killed by a light-rail train Monday morning has been released by the Sacramento County Coroner's office.

She was identified as Lorie Christine Muma, 47, of Sacramento.

Her death occurred about 6:30 a.m. on the tracks along Folsom Boulevard near Mercantile Drive, just east of the Sunrise station. A Regional Transit spokeswoman said Muma was walking a bicycle on the tracks.

Crossing arms were down at Mercantile Drive and bells were ringing when she walked into the path of the train, the RT spokeswoman said.

Police are asking for help in an investigation into a crash that injured a Woodland driver and a 5-year-old passenger.

Woodland Police said that about 3:30 p.m. Monday, a vehicle swerved off the Gibson Road between West Street and College Avenue. The vehicle struck a tree in front of a home, causing non life-threatening injuries to the 50-year-old driver and the child.

Both the driver and the child were taken by ambulance to UC Davis Medical Center.

The cause of the crash is under investigation by the Woodland Police Department Traffic Division. Anyone who may have witnessed the crash is asked to call traffic investigators at (530) 661-7800.

Sacramento Police Department traffic investigators would like to speak with witnesses to a crash involving a single vehicle this afternoon in the South Natomas area.

Officers responded about 3:27 p.m. to a report a single-vehicle rollover at Grasslands Drive and West El Camino Avenue, east of Interstate 5.

The driver of a black BMW sedan was traveling east on West El Camino Avenue at a high rate of speed when he lost control of the vehicle, which left the roadway and struck multiple objects, according to a Police Department news release. The driver, a man in his early 20s and the only occupant of the vehicle, was transported to UC Davis Medical Center with life-threatening injuries.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or has any information about the incident is asked to contact the Traffic Investigation Unit by calling the Police Department's dispatch center at (916) 264-5471, or Crime Alert at (916) 443-4357.

Citrus Heights police are touting a sharp decline in traffic fatalities and other on-the-road accidents in the past six years thanks to lower speed limits and more robust enforcement.

Police said in 2006, the city began reducing posted speeds on major thoroughfares. At the same time, the police department began to closely watch out for speeders violating the new lower speed limits.

Fatalities went from a high of 14 in 2006 to an average of 3 over the past four years, according to a police press release. In addition, the number of accidents city-wide has been reduced from 1,203 in 2006 to 670 in 2012.

Lodi police said the death of a little boy hit by a vehicle driven by his father was accidental.

Police responded to Tree Court about 11:30 a.m. Wednesday on a report of a child that had been struck by a vehicle. The three-year-old boy hit by the vehicle was transported to Lodi Memorial Hospital.

The child, who suffered severe head trauma, was later pronounced dead. A police press release said his death appears to be an accident.

Still, the circumstances surrounding the death are being investigated by the Lodi Police Department Major Accident and Investigation Team.

A California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer was injured this morning in a collision on Stockton Boulevard north of 37th Avenue in the Fruitridge Manor neighborhood.

The crash occurred about 11:35 a.m. as the CHP officer was northbound on Stockton Boulevard. A motorist driving a green Mercedes Benz C220 was leaving the parking lot area of the Kings Palace Restaurant on the east side of Stockton Boulevard. The motorist apparently did not see the motorcycle, and entered the roadway to make a left turn onto southbound Stockton Boulevard, according to a CHP news release. The Mercedes traveled directly into the path of the motorcycle and the officer did not have time to take evasive action.

The front end of the motorcycle collided with the driver's side fender and door area of the Mercedes, propelling the officer over the car. The officer landed on the roadway north of the collision site.

A spokesman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reports that an overturned tanker truck has been safely removed and a section of HIighway 70 is reopening after a 16-hour closure.

The highway was closed between Ramirez and Magnolia roads north of Marysville following the 6:30 a.m. crash and traffic was diverted.

Firefighers stood by throughout the afternoon and evening in case of fire as a specialized crew offloaded 8,000 gallons of fuel, according to Daniel Berlant, Cal Fire spokesman.

The California Highway Patrol reported that the tanker and a pickup crashed between Ramirez and Magnolia roads about 6:30 a.m., and the pickup caught fire.

The tanker truck did not catch fire, but ended up in a ditch on its side. The tanker's load had to drained before the tanker could be righted and be towed away.

The CHP reported minor injuries to the motorists involved.

Photo courtesy California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection

A pedestrian who died Friday evening after he was struck by a vehicle in South Lake Tahoe has been identified by police as John Carleton, 51, a local resident.

Officers responded about 6:45 p.m. to 2681 Lake Tahoe Blvd. Police said Carleton was crossing the street when he was struck by an SUV. He was taken to Barton Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to a Police Department news release.

The driver of the SUV, Gregory Stearns, 49, also of South Lake Tahoe, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol with a suspended license.

Police said the cause of the collision remains under investigation pending autopsy results.

The Yolo County sheriff's department has released the names of both drivers who died from injuries suffered in a fiery crash on Interstate 5 in Yolo County Saturday night.

The California Highway Patrol in Woodland was informed of a vehicle blocking a lane of northbound I-5, just south of County Road 8, about 11 p.m. Saturday. Officers enroute were told that a Honda Accord had collided with an Oldsmobile.

The crash caused the Honda to roll on top of the Oldsmobile and then both cars were engulfed in flames. The drivers of both vehicles died.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The sheriff's department said the driver of the Oldsmobile was Jorge Mora Arias, 40, of Woodland. The driver of the Honda was identified as Cheryl Ann Fortress, 34, of Paradise, Butte County.

A Woodland police officer was involved in a collision this morning while responding to another officer's request for assistance.

The crash occurred about 6:56 a.m. as an officer driving a marked police sport-utility vehicle with activated emergency lights and siren responded to a report of an officer in need of assistance at an alarm call in the 100 block of West Court Street, according to a Police Department news release.

As the officer traveled westbound on Gibson Road through West Street, the police vehicle collided with a pickup truck northbound on West Street. After the vehicles struck each other, the police SUV crashed into the front yard of a home on the northwest corner of the intersection, and the pickup stopped in the roadway.

The California Highway Patrol announced that it will recommend charges against both a truck driver and a bicyclist involved a collision that seriously injured two teenagers in Rio Linda last week.

The driver of a Ford truck involved in what was reported as a hit-and-run collision has come forward and given a statement to CHP investigators.

The 35-year-old Rio Linda resident, whose name has not been released, and his counsel have cooperated with officers investigating the collision, which occurred about 10:22 p.m. Thursday on Dry Creek Road just north of Elkhorn Boulevard, according to a CHP news release.

Two drivers died from injuries suffered in a fiery crash on Interstate 5 in Yolo County Saturday night.

The California Highway Patrol in Woodland was informed of a vehicle blocking a lane of northbound I-5, just south of County Road 8, about 11 p.m. Saturday. Officers enroute were told that a Honda Accord had collided with an Oldsmobile.

The crash caused the Honda to roll on top of the Oldsmobile and then both cars were engulfed in flames. The drivers of both vehicles died.

The cause of the crash is under investigation.

The Yolo County Sheriff's Department said the driver of the Oldsmobile was Jorge Mora Arias, 40, of Woodland.

The Honda driver was a 34-year-old Willows, Glenn County, woman. Her name has not yet been released.

A man is dead after being hit by a driver who was under the influence of alcohol, South Lake Tahoe police said.

The fatality occurred Friday evening shortly before 7 p.m. in the 2600 block of Lake Tahoe Blvd., when a 51-year-old male pedestrian was crossing the street and was struck by a black SUV, authorities said. Emergency personnel transported the unconscious man to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Police are not releasing his name at this time.

The driver of the SUV, Gregory Stearns, 49, of South Lake Tahoe was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and with a suspended license, according to reports. Police are still investigating the incident but said the pedestrian may have also been intoxicated.

Nine people were taken to local hospitals this evening following a four-vehicle collision at Laguna Boulevard and Neosho Drive in Elk Grove.

Detective James Kang of the Elk Grove Police Department said the crash occurred about 8:30 p.m. Investigators are interviewing witnesses and trying to piece together what happened. But Kang said it appears a vehicle westbound on Laguna Boulevard overcorrected and went into the eastbound lane, striking an sport-utility vehicle and causing it to overturn.

Kang said a woman and four children age 7 to 14 were were in the SUV and were taken to local hospitals, along with occupants of other vehicles involved. He said none appeared to be seriously injured.

Two teenagers were hospitalized with major injuries Thursday night after they were struck by a truck while bicycling and skateboarding along Dry Creek Road in Rio Linda.

The 17-year-old boys, one on a bicycle and the other on a skateboard, were traveling together on the east side of Dry Creek Road, north of Elkhorn Boulevard, about 10:22 p.m. They were riding southbound in the bike lane when a Ford truck northbound on Dry Creek Road traveled into the bike lane. The truck struck both boys and continued north on Dry Creek, failing to stop at the scene, according to a California Highway Patrol news release.

Both boys were transported to Mercy San Juan Medical Center with major injuries.

By Tony Bizjak
tbizjak@sacbee.com

Law enforcement in the Sacramento region will launch a second round of targeted ticketing of distracted drivers next week, the state Office of Traffic Safety says.

The focus on drivers who talk on handheld cell phones or text is part of a $600,000 federal experiment to see if a series of focused ticketing events, along with public awareness announcements, succeeds in reducing the number of distracted-driving crashes on the road.

The targeted enforcement period will run from Monday through March 10. The California Highway Patrol and 37 local police agencies will participate.

South Lake Tahoe police allege that distracted and drunken driving may have caused a man to plow into two parked cars last night.

Law enforcement received numerous 911 calls about 8:20 p.m. Thursday reporting that a car had crashed in front of a house in the 2500 block of Fountain Drive. A California Highway Patrol officer was nearby and responded.

He detained Christopher Catterson, 27, of South Lake Tahoe. A police press release said Catterson was running from the scene when he was stopped.

Two people died Wednesday when a driver became distracted on a mountain road and his pickup tumbled down a canyon wall in Butte County.

California Highway Patrol units arrived at the scene of the 3:30 p.m. accident in the Concow area, east of Paradise, about 5:30 p.m. The injured survivors of the crash had to climb back up to the road and hail a passerby who then summoned the CHP and medical aid to the remote location.

Charles Taylor, of Chico, 19, the driver of the pickup, told the CHP that he and three friends were traveling westbound on a narrow, dirt portion of Concow Road when he became distracted while talking to his passengers and briefly took his eyes off the road.

A rare closure of the I Street Bridge occurred this morning due to ice on the trusty old span.

About 7 a.m. today West Sacramento police closed the bridge that crosses the Sacramento River between downtown Sacramento and West Sacramento after vehicles slid out of control and collided head-on.

"Two cars hit the black ice," said Lt. Tod Sockman of the West Sacramento police.

The bridge opened again about 8 a.m. when the sun warmed the pavement enough to melt the ice away.

Southbund Interstate 5 through Elk Grove has reopened following a nearly three-hour closure after a big-rig truck and trailer overturned north of Laguna Boulevard early this afternoon.

The truck with a 53-foot trailer loaded with PVC piping supplies for pools overturned about 2 p.m. Initial statements from witnesses indicated that the big rig was traveling in the slow lane when it drifted toward the center lane, then back toward the roadway shoulder, according to a CHP news release.The truck and trailer both overturned, blocking all three lanes of southbound I-5.

Although it was raining when the collision occurred, it has not been determined whether weather was a factor, officials said.

The 54-year-old driver, whose address was listed as Stockton, suffered cuts and was transported to a local hospital for treatment.

The name of the 18-year-old Sacramento woman who died in a single-car rollover accident in Natomas late Sunday night had been released by the Sacramento County Coroner's office.

She was identified as Liana Kotsura of Sacramento.

At 11:10 p.m., a red 1998 Acura sedan being driven by Vladimir Sushinskiy, 18, of Sacramento, was traveling along eastbound Interstate 80, merging to southbound Interstate 5 at a high rate of speed, said California Highway Patrol Officer Lizz Dutton.

By Anne Gonzales

agonzales@sacbee.com

An 18-year-old Sacramento woman died and three other teens were injured in a single-car rollover accident in Natomas late Sunday night, according to California Highway Patrol.

At about 11:10 p.m., a red 1998 Acura sedan being driven by Vladimir Sushinskiy, 18, of Sacramento, was traveling along eastbound Interstate 80, merging to southbound Interstate 5 at a "high rate of speed," said Lizz Dutton, a CHP spokesperson.

Sushinskiy lost control of the car, sending it careening off of the north roadway edge of the transition road, Dutton said. The car raced up and over a guardrail and flipped over, coming to rest on its roof in the westbound lane of the I-80 interchange.

Highway 70 north of Marysville has re-opened after a big rig crash closed the route earlier this morning.

The big rig overturned this morning on Highway 70 at Old Highway at about 5:30 a.m. The highway re-opened about 9:45 a.m.

Roadside signs directed traffic around the closure. Pacific Gas & Electric crews had to called to repair downed power lines caused by the accident, which involved only the big rig.

A Caltrans crash protection vehicle was slammed into by a car on Monday in Yolo County, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The driver of the car, John P. Bledsoe, 64, of Woodland, was taken to a hospital with complaints of pain. The Caltrans driver of the crash attenuator truck, Jaime A. Ruiz Fuentes, 27, of Elk Grove refused medical assistance at the scene, the CHP reported.

Fuentes was driving northbound at about 15 mph on Highway 113 near County Road 27 about 1:30 p.m. following a crew that was striping the road. The CHP said that Bledsoe was traveling in the same direction at about 65 mph when he became distracted by his cell phone.

According to a CHP press release, Bledsoe failed to notice in time that he was approaching the Caltrans protection truck. Although Beldsoe applied his brakes, his car collided with the crash cushion on the rear of the Caltrans truck.

Major damage was sustained by both vehicles.

Sacramento police have identified the man they said held up an Oak Park bank on Thursday.

Police said they booked Ruben Rodriguez, 45, (pictured) into Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of robbery, assault on an officer, evading arrest and using a firearm in the commission of a felony. His bail is set at $1 million.

He is accused of holding up the US Bank, 3418 Broadway, about 10 a.m. Thursday. Officers quickly responded to the report of a robbery at the bank.

When police arrived, citizens pointed out a man they said was the robber. Rodriguez fled in a vehicle with police in pursuit.

He hit one vehicle and then backed into a police unit before driving down Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. Rodriguez was eventually taken into custody.

Cash taken from the bank and a fake firearm used in the robbery were found in his vehicle, police said.

By Anne Gonzales

afgonzales@sacbee.com

A rockslide briefly closed Highway 50 east of Placerville, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Eastbound and westbound lanes on the highway 27 miles east of Placerville were blocked, starting at 9:24 a.m. today. A CHP dispatcher said after 11 a.m. that the roadway had been reopened.

Crews have been removing rock from the roadway.

Motorists can expect delays in the area, officers said.

The woman who died Monday evening after she was struck by a vehicle while attending a vigil at the site of a fatal Sunday morning crash was identified by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office.

Kathryn O'Farrell, 79, died after being struck by an SUV driving westbound as she crossed the 100 block of El Camino Avenue, police said.

O'Farrell was bringing flowers to a vigil for a man who died in a two-vehicle accident on the same block of El Camino Avenue Sunday morning, police said.

Voter registration records indicate O'Farrell lived on the block where the fatal accidents happened.

PHOTO CREDIT: Dan Hill, Sacramento Bee.

A 79-year-old woman died this evening after she was struck by a vehicle while attending a vigil at the site of a fatal Sunday morning crash.

Sacramento police spokeswoman Officer Michele Gigante said the woman was crossing in the 100 block of El Camino Avenue near Western Avenue in North Sacramento shortly after 8 p.m.to place flowers at the site of a vigil being held nearby when she was hit by an SUV traveling westbound on El Camino.

Gigante said the man driving the SUV stopped and is cooperating with police. She said alcohol does not apear to be a factor.

Two brothers who died after being struck and killed by a hit-and-run driver on a Meadowview street have been identified by the Sacramento County Coroner's office.

Eddie Eugene Richard, 43, and Mark Anthony Richard, 40, died after they were hit by the driver of a pickup truck about 2:45 a.m. Friday on Meadowview Road and 24th Street.

Sacramento police were called to the scene by a citizen who reported a disturbance and saw somebody in the street.

Troubled comedian Katt Williams was a no-show for a Sacramento court date today.

Williams was to be arraigned at a 10:30 a.m. appearance in Sacramento Superior Court's Department 8 in connection with a Nov. 25 incident in which Williams was allegedly observed near Capitol Park driving a three-wheeled motorcycle on an L Street sidewalk.

The incident is one of several facing the actor and comedian.

Members of the media were notified Williams had rescheduled his appearance shortly after the court took up the daily docket.

Williams is now set to appear at 10:30 a.m. Wednesday in Department 8.

An argument or fight on a Meadowview street turned deadly when both men involved in the altercation were hit and killed by the driver of a pickup truck.

Sacramento police were called about 2:45 a.m. today to Meadowview Road and 24th Street by a citizen who reported a disturbance and saw somebody in the street.

When officers arrived, they found two men in the street. One man was dead at the scene, while the other was transported to the hospital where he later was pronounced deceased.

Witnesses told police that a white, full-sized pickup truck, driving northbound on 24th Street, struck the two men. The truck then fled the area, according to a police spokesman.

It is not known if the driver of the truck had anything to do with the argument, police said.

A four-year-old died in a collision at an intersection Wednesday northwest of Wheatland.

The California Highway Patrol said that boy was in a Honda Civic headed southbound on Rancho Road about 4:30 p.m. A Nissan Sentra, traveling eastbound on Ostrom Road, failed to stop at a stop sign where the two roads intersect, according to a CHP press release.

The Nissan struck the passenger side of the Honda, killing the four-year-old boy. Alcohol does not appear to be a cause of the crash.

The investigation into the collision is on-going, according to the CHP.

A pedestrian died when struck by a vehicle this morning on Fair Oaks Boulevard.

The man was hit about 6:30 a.m. on Fair Oaks Boulevard near San Juan Avenue. Westbound lanes of Fair Oaks Boulevard between San Juan and Marshall Avenue were partially blocked until 8 a.m. as California Highway Patrol officers conducted an investigation and waited for Sacramento County Coroner's Office deputies to arrive.

No details about the collision were immediately available.

A Union Pacific freight train that originated in Roseville struck and killed a man sitting on Union Pacific railroad tracks in Davis this morning.

The man was hit about two miles from the nearest railroad crossing. An investigation is underway, according to UP.

Davis police said that they initially were called to the fatality at about 4:30 a.m., responding to the area of Second Street and Pena Drive.

A semi truck driver suffered minor injuries after he hit a cow and then slammed into a power pole in San Joaquin County.

A Grass Valley man was injured this evening when he was struck by a pickup truck while trying to cross Nevada City Highway on foot.

Grass Valley officers responded about 7:30 p.m. to a report of a traffic accident involving a vehicle and a pedestrian in the southbound lanes of Nevada City Highway.

A preliminary investigation determined that Michael Damon Race Romero, 23, was crossing the highway from east to west when he was struck by a southbound 1994 Mazda pickup driven by William Fike, 20, of Nevada County, according to a Police Department news release.

By Matt Weiser
mweiser@sacbee.com

A 63-year-old Sacramento man died Saturday after his motorcycle collided with a minivan in Elk Grove.

The Sacramento County Coroner's Office listed the deceased as Kenneth W. Duffy. He was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident at the intersection of Elk Grove Boulevard and Bradshaw Road, said Elk Grove Police Department spokesman Det. James Kang.

The accident occurred at about 12:45 p.m. Saturday when the victim's motorcycle collided with the side of the minivan, Kang said. A woman in the minivan received minor injuries and was taken to a hospital to be examined. The children riding with her in the minivan were not injured.

Kang could not say how the accident occurred. But he said there was no indication that either driver was impaired by alcohol or any other substance.

Sacramento Metropolitan Fire Department crews have responded to the Century Theaters on Ethan Way in the Arden Arcade area after a vehicle in the parking lot struck the building.

Capt. Chris Quinn said he did not know what caused the crash, which was reported shortly after 9 p.m. He said two people suffered minor injuries. The building sustained no significant damage.

Three months after he was hit by a driver allegedly under the influence of drugs, little Henry Perez-Rocha (pictured) has died.

The Sacramento County Coroner's website notes that the six-year-old died at 1:45 a.m. Wednesday.

Henry and his brother, Juan Perez-Rocha, 8, were struck in a crosswalk Oct. 5 at Greenback Lane and Mariposa Avenue on their way to Skycrest Elementary in Citrus Heights.

Police said that a Chrysler 300 driven by Tresa Bales-Sterba, 52, of Orangevale collided with a Chevy Suburban in the intersection, then spun into the children. The boys' mother was walking behind her sons with another child and witnessed the accident.

A 21-year-old man who died Monday afternoon in a collision after leading police on a short chase has been identified by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office as Sage A. Lopez of Sacramento.

Lopez, who Sacramento police said was driving a stolen Honda, died when he reportedly ran a stop sign on Clay Street at El Camino Avenue in North Sacramento and was struck by a vehicle traveling west on El Camino.

Police spokeswoman Officer Michele Gigante said officers were on patrol in the area of Acacia Avenue and Belden Street at 12:37 p.m. Monday when they spotted a white Honda traveling in the opposite direction. Officers ran the license plate number and learned that the vehicle had been reported stolen.

A 16-year-old male is in custody after leading CHP on a short chase through Antelope and into the garage of a single-story house.

Officers originally responded to a report of a stolen car near Elgin Hills Way around 7:30 this morning. An hour later, the 19-year-old stolen car suspect identified the juvenile driving a black truck as an accomplice, Officer Lizz Dutton said.

The truck attempted to flee CHP officers but crashed into a house near Cook Riolo Road and Great Valley Drive. The juvenile suspect ran a few blocks after the crash before officers arrested him, Dutton said.

The 16-year-old was taken to Mercy San Juan Medical Center and was arrested on suspicion of crimes including felony hit and run and driving without a license, Dutton said.

A Woodland CHP officercrashed in Natomas while driving southbound on I-5 last night.

For unknown reasons the officer lost control of his vehicle, hit a drainage ditch north of Del Paso Road and rolled multiple times around 8:30 p.m., Officer Lizz Dutton said.

The car came to rest on its roof and caught on fire, Dutton said.

A Redwood City man has pleaded no contest to second-degree murder and gross vehicular manslaughter for his role in a Highway 50 crash last February that left three people dead and two others injured.

On Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 5, Christopher Thomas Rigsby drove to South Lake Tahoe to watch the game with friends at Harvey's Casino. After several drinks, he drove back to Sacramento County early the following morning. He was first observed speeding westbound on Highway 50 near the Sunrise Boulevard exit. Minutes later, he was seen speeding eastbound in the westbound lanes of Highway 50.

Rigsby's vehicle collided head-on with a Pontiac Aztec at estimated speeds of 70 to 90 mph, according to a Sacramento County District Attorney's Office news release.

A 21-year-old man believed to have been driving a stolen vehicle died this afternoon in a crash on El Camino Avenue after leading Sacramento police on a short pursuit.

Police spokeswoman Officer Michele Gigante said officers were on patrol in the area of Acacia Avenue and Belden Street in North Sacramento at 12:37 p.m.when they spotted a white Honda traveling in the opposite direction. Officers ran the license plate number and learned that the vehicle had been reported stolen.

The officers turned around and attempted a to stop the Honda, but the driver failed to pull over and turned southbound onto Clay Street with police in pursuit. Seconds later, at the intersection of Clay Street and El Camino Avenue, the suspect ran a stop sign and the Honda was struck by a car traveling west on El Camino.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What was the outcome of the hit-and-run on Winding Way last year?
Submitted by: Les, Sacramento

ANSWER: Steve Hernandez, 38, was arrested in July in the March 22 hit-and-run that killed Paul Pellandini and injured his friend William Collins on Winding Way in the Arden Arcade area.

Allegedly abandoning his crashed pickup got one young man in Linda more than a DUI.

The California Highway Patrol reported that an officer was dispatched about 3 a.m. this morning to Alicia Avenue in the Yuba County community of Linda where a Ford 150 truck had hit a power pole, knocking out electricity in the area.

The driver was nowhere to be seen. Officers eventually located the suspected driver, Aldo Ivan Marcial, 21, in an apartment not far from the crash.

He was booked into Yuba County jail on suspicion of hit and run, driving under the influence, driving without a license and delaying or obstructing an investigation.

High speed and fog led to a head-on collision early this morning in which one person died and two others were injured, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The crash occurred about 3:42 a.m. on Jackson Highway, west of Eagles Nest Road, in Sacramento County. John D. Bernet, 49, of Plymouth, was driving a 2003 Nissan 300 ZX westbound on Jackson Highway, when he came upon a slower vehicle, which had been traveling at 55 mph, and elected to pass, according to a CHP news release.

Bernet's vehicle traveled into the opposing lane and collided head-on with an eastbound 1997 Honda Accord driven by Mary J. Kelly, 37, of Pine Grove.

Two people were seriously injured tonight in a collision involving a speeding vehicle in Roseville.

A Roseville police officer northbound on Foothills Boulevard about 7:40 p.m. saw a car southbound on Foothills at a high rate of speed, according to a Police Department news release. The officer made a U-turn to get behind the speeding car, a 1997 Toyota Avalon four-door sedan. But by the time he made the turn, the Toyota had collided with a 1990 Dodge van that was making a right turn out of a shopping center onto southbound Foothills Boulevard.

The sedan spun and traveled onto a landscaped embankment in front of the shopping center.

Three people have been injured, one critically, in a collision near the junction of Highway 50 and Interstate 80 in West Sacramento.

Sgt. Andrew Hill of the California Highway Patrol said the collision was reported at 4:43 p.m. He said the driver of a 2006 Toyota Sequoia had stopped for some reason on the right shoulder of the transition to eastbound Interstate 80 near Enterprise Boulevard and the Highway 50-I-80 split. The driver then attempted to cross the transition lanes and to enter eastbound Highway 50.

As the Sequoia crossed two transition lanes, it was broadsided by a 2004 Toyota Corolla. Hill said the Sequoia overturned, and the driver was partially ejected from the driver's side window.

A 21-year-old man killed Tuesday when he lost control of his vehicle at a high rate of speed and crashed at an historic schoolhouse has been identified by the Sacramento County Coroner.

Elijah Nehemiah Riley of Elk Grove was the driver of a vehicle that crossed eight lanes of traffic on Bradshaw Road and crashed into a play structure at historic Edward Kelley Preschool. He died at the scene.

The cause of the 3 p.m. crash is under investigation, but it appears Riley "may have had a medical condition," a sheriff's department spokesman said at the time of the accident.

The California Highway Patrol is asking the community's help in the search for a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run collision that left a pedestrian dead on Christmas Eve.

The collision occurred about 5:10 p.m. Dec. 24 on a westbound Highway 50 onramp in Rancho Cordova. Investigating officers believe the vehicle was traveling on the Highway 50 westbound onramp from southbound Sunrise Boulevard when it struck a woman in the roadway as she was crossing the onramp in a westerly direction, according to a CHP news release.

The pedestrian, identified by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office as Yvonne Janell Raphael, 65, was then struck by two other vehicles, which remained at the scene. The first vehicle, however, fled.

A 21-year-old man was killed Tuesday when he lost control of his vehicle at a high rate of speed, crossed eight lanes of traffic on Bradshaw Road and crashed into a play structure at the historic Edward Kelley Prechool in Rosemont.

Sacramento County Sheriff's Department spokesman Sgt. Jason Ramos said the cause of the 3 p.m. crash is under investigation, but it appears the man "may have had a medical condition."

A 19-year-old male passenger, who was uninjured, ran for help after the accident, Ramos said.

The Sacramento County Coroner's office has released the name of a 3-year-old boy who died Monday after he was struck by a vehicle at Sunrise Boulevard and Lawrence Avenue in Citrus Heights.

He was identified as Kameron Collins.

The accident was reported about 5:30 p.m. When police officers arrived they administered emergency aid, including CPR, until Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District crews arrived, according to a Police Department news release. The child was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Traffic investigators determined that a 2004 Kia sedan traveling south on Sunrise at Lawrence struck the child. The youngster was walking westbound from the center median across the southbound lanes of Sunrise Boulevard, according to the news release.

The driver of the vehicle was not injured and was reported cooperating with police in the investigation. The circumstances surrounding the collision are under investigation.

A 3-year-old boy died this evening after he was struck by a vehicle at Sunrise Boulevard and Lawrence Avenue in Citrus Heights.

The accident was reported about 5:30 p.m. When police officers arrived they administered emergency aid, including CPR, until Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District crews arrived, according to a Police Department news release. The child was taken to an area hospital where he was pronounced dead.

Police said the child's name was being withheld at the request of his family.

Here are five new laws pertaining to driving in California that go into effect with the new year.

The California Highway Patrol explained the new laws in a press release:

• Driving under the influence: Requires that a person who has been arrested for suspected driving under the influence of drugs must submit to a blood test and can no longer opt for a urine test. Before the change, a driver suspected of being under the influence of drugs could opt for either a urine or blood test. Blood tests, some experts claim, are better at determining if drugs are in a person's system.

Sacramento police are asking for the public's help in finding a suspect involved in a fatal hit-and-run in the Valley Hi area this morning.

Killed in the collision was a man in his 20s who has not yet been identified.

Shortly after 7 a.m., police and paramedics were called to the 5900 block of Valley Hi Drive for an unresponsive person in the road. They found a man in his 20s, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Nearly 3,000 drivers were caught breaking cell phone rules during a crackdown in 37 police jurisdictions in and around Sacramento County.

"We are committed to saving lives on area roadways, and drivers should expect to continue to see officers enforcing cell phone driving laws time and time again," said state Office of Traffic Safety director Chris Murphy.

California was one of two states to receive grants for high-visibility law enforcement pilot programs to squelch motorists' hand-held cell phone use and texting. In addition to California, Delaware was selected to mount a pilot project.

The California program, dubbed "Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other," was conducted in eight counties with 3.8 million residents in an area ranging from Modesto to Marysville and Vallejo to South Lake Tahoe. The crackdown occurred from Nov. 30 to Dec. 9.

A 65-year-old pedestrian was killed Christmas eve when she was hit by a vehicle while crossing a Highway 50 onramp in Rancho Cordova.

The female pedestrian was walking across a Sunrise Boulevard onramp to westbound Highway 50 about 5 p.m. Monday when a vehicle hit her and did not stop. The California Highway Patrol is still looking for the hit-and-run driver.

After the initial striking of the woman by the unknown driver, her body, still in an onramp lane, was struck by a motorcycle and a car.

The CHP reports that the fatal injuring of the pedestrian occurred at dusk and that the street lights were inoperable. The Sacramento County Coroner's Office has not released the name of the pedestrian.

By Phillip Reese
preese@sacbee.com

A bicyclist was killed early today after he swerved in front of a moving car in central West Sacramento, police said.

The man, 51, was cycling eastward near 2000 West Capitol Avenue around 7 a.m. in the driving rain when he swerved to miss a large puddle and was hit.

The car was also moving east. Its driver was not hurt.

The identity of the bicyclist was not released pending notification of family members.

A motorist was killed this morning on Highway 99 in Lodi when a car went off the roadway and hit a tree.

The 5:30 a.m. accident involved two vehicles, one which went out of control and struck a roadside tree, killing the driver. The accident occurred just south of the Highway 12.

The slow lane of southbound Highway 99 was still closed as of 7:45 a.m. so that the body could be removed from the car by the coroner, according to a California Highway Patrol website.

Freezing conditions this morning have caused traffic accidents when vehicles slid out of control on black ice.

"It's all over the foothills," said California Highway Patrol officer Rich Wetzel. "We had two crashes on Bass Lake Road north of Highway 50. No injuries. Both are off the road."

Also this morning, around 7 a.m., north of Newcastle in Placer County, water run-off from a tree farm caused ice to form on Highway 193 near Gold Hill Road, according to a CHP traffic website.

Interstate 5 in Siskiyou County has reopened this morning in both directions after a crash involving about 60 vehicles.

California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokeswoman Julie Hutchinson said a number of people suffered minor to moderate injuries in a series of crashes that started around 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and stretched for nearly a mile along the northbound side of the freeway, according to the Associated Press.

Hutchinson says she doesn't know the exact number of people injured. The southbound side of the interstate was closed so emergency vehicles could reach the scene.

A 26-year-old man died Saturday after a two-vehicle accident that knocked out power in the Ski Run neighborhood of South Lake Tahoe, police reported.

William Olazaba of South Lake Tahoe was pronounced dead at Barton Memorial Hospital after the 1:35 a.m. accident on Pioneer Trail at Ski Run Boulevard, the South Lake Tahoe police said Saturday.

Olazaba was a passenger in a sedan driven by Roberto Olazaba, 22, of South Lake Tahoe that broadsided a sport-utility vehicle passing through the intersection.

The driver of the SUV, Nick Corea, 26, of South Lake Tahoe, was treated and released at Barton Memorial. Roberto Olazaba was admitted to the hospital for observation.

The collision briefly shut off power to the Ski Run neighborhood after one of the vehicles stuck a power conversion box.

A 13-year-old boy has been transported to a hospital after he was stuck by a vehicle in Roseville late this afternoon.

The accident occurred about 4:45 p.m. Police spokeswoman Dee Dee Gunther said three teenagers were trying to cross Washington Boulevard. Two waited but one boy decided to dash across, she said. The youth was not in a crosswalk.

He was struck by a Nissan sedan that was southbound on Washington Boulevard.

A woman was arrested by Sacramento police on suspicion of leaving the scene after hitting a person in a wheelchair.

Regina Medina, 35, was arrested on suspicion of felony hit and run and driving on an expired license.

Police said that about 4 p.m. Thursday a person in a wheelchair was struck by a vehicle in the vicinity of 30th and U streets. The injuries to the wheelchair user were described as not life-threatening.

The vehicle fled the scene, according to a police activity log. Police allege that Medina was the driver of the vehicle and that she returned to the scene where she was taken into custody.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: In April 2011, Teresa Hess was killed by a vehicle while crossing Laguna Boulevard in Elk Grove. What was the final result of that investigation?
Submitted by: Katt, Elk Grove

ANSWER: Teresa Hess, 54, died April 5, 2011, of injuries suffered a day earlier when she was struck by a pickup truck as she jogged about 8 a.m. across Laguna Boulevard.

A Shasta Lake man is in custody following a hit-and-run collision in Citrus Heights that left a motorcyclist with major injuries, according to police.

Westbound Greenback Lane between Sunrise Boulevard and Birdcage Street was closed for about five hours while police investigated the collision, which occurred just before 12:30 p.m.

A van collided with a motorcycle and then fled the scene, according to a Citrus Heights Police Department news release. The van was located a few blocks away in a parking lot in the area of Sunrise and Sun Hill Drive, but the driver was gone. Police later located the suspected driver, identified as Adam McGue, 30, of Shasta Lake. He was arrested on suspicion of hit and run with injury.

All westbound lanes of Highway 50 are open now after a major injury collision had reduced traffic flow to one lane in West Sacramento, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The collision occurred shortly after 5 p.m. and involved a sedan and a sports utility vehicle. CHP reports available online indicate more vehicles might have been involved.

The lane closure, at the West Harbor Boulevard off ramp, had traffic backed up to Jefferson Boulevard.

Traffic cams, conditions at sacbee.com/traffic.

A heavy oak tree fell on a truck this morning near Rescue, crushing the driver but sparing the life of a boy.

A California Highway Patrol officer said the Ford 150 pickup was traveling westbound on Green Valley Road near Ponderosa Road about 8 a.m. today when the tree fell. The limb crushed the cab of the truck.

The driver, about 50 years old, died but the 10-year-old passenger was not injured, according to the CHP.

A Delta woman died when her car went into a ditch and hit a tree over the weekend.

The Sacramento County Coroner's office identified her as Katherine Marie Znamirowski, 29, of Ryde.

The California Highway Patrol reported that she was traveling on Highway 160 near Vieira's Resort when her Toyota Prius left the roadway and went into a ditch. The car then hit a tree and rolled over.

Znamirowski was declared dead at the scene of the 9 p.m. Saturday accident. The CHP said it was raining at the time of the crash.

The Yolo County Coroner's office has released the name of the Pacific Gas & Electric employee who died when his truck slammed into a traffic signal pole in West Sacramento on Friday.

He was identified as Tommy Gene Flippo, Jr., 57, of Woodland.

Police officers responded to the crash about 2 a.m. Friday at the intersection of Lake Washington and Jefferson boulevards. Flippo died at the scene.

West Sacramento police investigated the incident, which occurred as a rainstorm was moving through the area. Police say it is possible that weather was a factor in the crash.

A second person has died in a crash into a sound wall at a high speed near Antelope Road.

The Sacramento County Coroner's office said that Walter Portillo, 37, of Sacramento died Saturday. He was the driver of a car that was traveling southbound on Don Julio Boulevard north of Cherbourg Drive Nov. 24 at 3:30 a.m. when his vehicle went out of control.

The California Highway Patrol said the Toyota Scion spun and crossed the northbound lanes before striking a brick sound wall. The force of the crash killed a front-seat passenger, Samvel Bagdikyan, 33, of North Highlands.

Harding Boulevard in Roseville is open again after being closed for five hours last night after a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle.

Roseville police spokeswoman Dee Dee Gunther said a man in his 40s was crossing southbound Harding Boulevard in the 200 block at 5:57 p.m. and walked into the path of a Toyota Prius. The driver was unable to stop in time and the vehicle hit the man.

The pedestrian was taken by ambulance to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries. His condition this morning was upgraded to serious.

Gunther said the accident occurred during rainy conditions, and the man was crossing in mid-block, not in a crosswalk.

Harding Boulevard remain closed until 11 p.m. Thursday while police investigators examined the scene.

Bee reporters answer questions about area crime news, trends and other issues.

QUESTION: What happened to the single-car accident at 4 a.m. Nov. 24? I know the passenger died. The driver was taken to the hospital. Did he or she live, and what was the cause of the accident?
Submitted by: Tammy Cowan, Sacramento

ANSWER: Samuel Bagdikyan, 33, of North Highlands died Nov. 24 when the 2007 Toyota Scion in which he was riding crashed into a brick soundwall.

Harding Boulevard in Roseville is closed to traffic in both directions between Estates Drive and Lead Hill Boulevard after a pedestrian was struck by a vehicle.

Roseville police spokeswoman Dee Dee Gunther said a man in his 40s was crossing southbound Harding Boulevard in the 200 block at 5:57 p.m. and walked into the path of a Toyota Prius. The driver was unable to stop in time and the vehicle hit the man. Gunther said he was taken by ambulance to a local hospital with life-threatening injuries.

She said the accident occurred during rainy conditions, and the man was crossing in mid-block, not in a crosswalk.

Harding Boulevard will remain closed while police investigators examine the scene. Gunther said the investigations typically take several hours. Motorists are advised to use alternate routes this evening to avoid the area.

The left two lanes of westbound Highway 50 near Fifth Street in Sacramento are expected to remain closed until about 8 p.m. because of a jackknifed big-rig.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Michael Bradley said it was raining shortly after 5 p.m. when a passenger vehicle changed lanes in front of the big-rig. The tuck driver slammed on his brakes to avoid a collision and the big-rig jackknifed. One of the saddle fuel tanks was punctured, spilling 80 to 100 gallons of diesel on the roadway, Bradley said.

The crash occurred on an elevated portion of the freeway, but Bradley said the fuel was contained to the roadway and did not flow into the drainage system.

No other vehicles were damaged and no one was injured.

A driver lost control of her car this morning, smashing into the front of a gas station in Arden Arcade.

Ava Wynn had finished filling her car with fuel about 8 a.m. when she began to pull away from the pump. Wynn, a Natomas resident, said as she went around one car when her vehicle suddenly accelerated and eventually went through the front of the AMPM gas station at El Camino and Howe avenues.

Wynn's vehicle also hit a car during the accident. One woman sweeping in front of the AMPM minimart had to rush to get out of the way.

"It happened so fast, you can't even think," said Wynn, who was filling up before heading into work.

Today, Wynn said, is her birthday.

A man died this afternoon as he was going between two cars of a light-rail train.

Regional Transit spokeswoman Alane Masui said the accident was reported at 3:50 p.m. She said the man, who according witnesses appeared to be inebriated, went between the first and second cars of a four-car outbound train at the Globe station on Del Paso Boulevard. He apparently became caught, and his body was discovered when the train pulled into the Arden/Del Paso station about a half-mile down the line.

The accident disrupted light-rail service on the Blue Line. Service was restored shortly after 9 p.m.

By Loretta Kalb and Kim Minugh
lkalb@sacbee.com

Officials released the names Sunday of four people, including two children, who were killed in a two-car collision on Highway 50 just east of Placerville.

The crash happened around 6 p.m. Saturday, when a 2004 Toyota Prius headed west in the Apple Hill area veered across four lanes of traffic and into the path of a minivan.

Three people in the Prius who died at the scene were identified by the El Dorado County Sheriff's Office as 38-year-old Sheng Kun Su, who was driving; 39-year-old Shu Zhen Zhao; and 8-year-old Shawn Su, all from Oakland.

By Tony Bizjak
tbizjak@sacbee.com

The Sacramento Bee newspaper carrier killed in a car crash early Thanksgiving morning has been identified by the Sacramento County Coroner as Kim Ngoc Nguyen, 37, of Sacramento.

Nguyen died when her sedan hit a power pole at about 6:20 a.m. on the 5500 block of 14th Avenue in the Tahoe Park and Tallac Village area. A passenger in the car was injured. Sacramento police officers said Nguyen appeared to be making morning deliveries when the crash occurred.

Alcohol was not involved, they said. Nguyen worked for the Metro Media News company, one of the Bee's contracted delivery companies.

See earlier story here.

Sacramento police are closing southbound lanes of Truxel Road in South Natomas following a collision involving three cars.

The collision occurred on Truxel Road at Pebblewood Way.

Check back later for more information.

A boy killed Sunday in a motor vehicle accident has been identified by the Sacramento County Coroner's office as Edward Hill, 12, of Elk Grove.

The boy was riding a bike and crossing with a friend at Bond Road and Elk Crest Drive when he was involved in a collision with a pickup truck pulling a camper trailer, said Sgt. Scott French of the Elk Grove Police Department.

It's not clear exactly how the accident happened, but the truck driver is not suspected of any wrongdoing, French said. The boy was hit by the side and the front of the trailer but not the truck, he said.

By Brad Branan
bbranan@sacbee.com

A boy leaving an Elk Grove shopping center was killed today in a motor vehicle accident.

The 12-year-old boy was riding a bike and crossing with a friend at Bond Road and Elk Crest Drive when he was involved in a collision with a pickup truck pulling a camper trailer, said Sgt. Scott French of the Elk Grove Police Department.

It's not clear exactly how the accident happened, but the truck driver is not suspected of any wrongdoing, French said. The boy was hit by the side and the front of the trailer but not the truck, he said.

An airman found dead in his vehicle off Highway 20 Friday was identified as Ayaz "Neil" Ali, 41, said Nevada County sheriff's officials.

Ali reportedly was stationed in Georgia and was visiting Northern California's Beale Air Force Base. Beale officials said the airman had been missing since Tuesday evening when he left the base.

The California Highway Patrol said Ali's Toyota Camry was spotted about 3:30 p.m. at Wild Turkey Lane and Highway 20 by state highway workers. A body found inside the car had been dead for at least a day, CHP said.

Nevada County sheriff's officials said it appeared Ali suffered head injuries in the single-car accident. Toxicology tests will determine if drugs or alcohol were factors in the death.

Three people were taken to local hospitals tonight after a lightrail train collided with a tractor trailer carrying almonds north of downtown Sacramento.

None of the injuries were serious or life-threatening, according to authorities.

The collision occurred shortly after 6 p.m. at the intersection of North 12th and North B streets. The train was travelling northbound on North 12th and the tractor trailer, on its way to the Blue Diamond plant, was southbound on North 12th and attempting to turn left onto North B street, said Mike Wiley, general manager of Regional Transit.

Under normal circumstances, Wiley said, all traffic lights at that intersection would be red to allow the train, travelling against the flow of traffic on North 12th, to safely pass through. It was not immediately clear, however, whether the collision was the result of a mechanical issue or an error by either driver.

Wiley said officials had video from the train to review during the investigation.

The two-car lightrail train was carrying about 65 passengers, two of whom were transported to area hospitals, Wiley said. The third patient was the driver of the train. The remaining passengers boarded shuttle buses provided by Regional Transit.

Officials were on scene for several hours as they processed the scene and cleared away almonds that had scattered on the roadway.

A man found dead this afternoon in a vehicle off Highway 20 in Nevada County is believed to be an airman who had been reported missing from Beale Air Force Base.

The vehicle was found near Mooney Flat Road in Nevada County, about a mile east of the Yuba County line.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Marc Morrison said the CHP received a report about 3:30 p.m. from a California Department of Transportation employee who was working in the area and spotted the vehicle. The employee found a man inside and reported that he appeared to have been dead for at least a day.

By Bill Lindelof
blindelof@sacbee.com

Regional Transit officials said a review of video images of a light-rail accident this morning shows that the pedestrian who died on the tracks was pushing a man in a wheelchair just before she was struck by the train.

An RT spokeswoman said the 5:30 a.m. collision at 19th and R streets killed the woman pedestrian who was pushing a man in a wheelchair where tracks cross over the sidewalk on the west side of 19th Street. For an unknown reason, the man fell from the wheelchair, clear of the tracks and the oncoming train.

The woman did not avoid the train headed downtown from South Sacramento. She was hit and ended up beneath the light-rail train.

The woman, who has not yet been identified, died at the scene. The man was taken to a hospital.

The train was stopped on 19th Street for several hours for an investigation but the road is now open.

PHOTO CAPTION: The accident closed 19th Street and S and Q streets. Bill Lindelof/Sacramento Bee

California Highway Patrol officers have arrested the motorist they suspect was driving drunk when he caused a head-on collision near Lincoln that killed a man.

The suspected drunken driver has been identified as Andrey Yushchuk, 43, of Lincoln. He was arrested at the hospital where was treated for his injuries.

The dead man has been identified by the Placer County Sheriff's Department as Gabriel Rodriguez, 53, of Live Oak.

A Yuba City man died when his car ended up in a watery ditch in Sutter County.

The 74-year-old man was driving along Tarke Road at Maroni Road west of Yuba City on Wednesday morning when his car left a curved stretch of the roadway for an unknown reason, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The car then went down a steep embankment, rolled over and came to rest upside down in a water-filled ditch. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

His name has not been released pending notification of family.

Citrus Heights police report that Greenback Lane has reopened to traffic.

Westbound lanes between Fair Oaks Boulevard and Arcadia Drive were closed earlier this evening because of a collision that resulted in serious injury.

The collision, which involved a motorcycle and a pick-up truck, is under investigation.

The driver who died this morning in a head-on collision near Lincoln has been identified by the Placer County Sheriff's Department as Gabriel Rodriguez, 53, of Live Oak.

The collision was caused by a suspected drunken driver, who suffered major injuries, according to the California Highway Patrol.

CHP officers were called to the crash on Sierra College Boulevard near Twelve Bridges Drive about 6:20 a.m. The CHP reported that the crash involved two minivans and a truck.

One man was arrested and two were hospitalized in critical condition following a high-speed chase that ended in a crash off Highway 99 near Galt this afternoon.

Lt. Jim Uptegrove of the Galt Police Department said officers were called about 11 a.m. to the 900 block of Whitford Court regarding a residential burglary. The resident reported that someone had knocked on her front door and when she didn't answer, the individual went to the rear of the house and attempted to get inside. The woman fled and called police.

When officers arrived, the would-be intruder was gone, but police found that a screen on the rear of the house had been removed and a window broken. Neighbors reported seeing two Latino men in a maroon vehicle driving through the neighborhood about the time of the break-in.

The California Highway Patrol is launching a year-long educational campaign to reduce the number of collisions involving motorcycles.

California is home to more than 1.3 million licensed motorcyclists, but each each hundreds are killed and thousands are injured. According to preliminary data from the CHP's Statewide Integrated Traffic Records System, the number of motorcyclists killed increased nearly 20 percent from 2010 to 2011. This followed a two-year decline in motorcycle-involved collisions, according to a CHP news release.

"Motorcycle awareness is a priority for the California Highway Patrol and a key to saving lives on the roadway," CHP Commissioner Joe Farrow said in a written statement. "Education combined with enforcement will help reinforce the concept that all motorists need to safely share the road."

Sacramento police have released a description of a pickup truck sought in connection with the hit-and-run death of a 61-year-old bicyclist Sunday.

Police said the Molly Arndt was riding her bicycle across Stockton Boulevard near Lawrence Drive about 5:45 p.m. Sunday when she was hit by a white pickup truck heading northbound. Arndt was taken to a hospital where she died from her injuries.

Police spokeswoman Officier Michele Gigante said today that based on evidence found at the scene, police are looking for