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One driver was killed and four other people were hospitalized after an accident on SR 84 in Sunol.

Highway crash: One person died and another four were hospitalized Saturday morning after a head-on collision on State Route 84 in Sunol.

•    A man driving a Dodge Viper suddenly crossed into oncoming traffic on a rural highway.

•    The Dodge crashed head-on into a Toyota pickup truck carrying three passengers.

•   The Dodge driver died at the scene. All four occupants of the Toyota truck were taken to the hospital to be treated for injuries.

The deadly car accident occurred around 9:15 a.m., according to a report in the San Jose Mercury News.

California Highway Patrol officials said 46-year-old Todd Shur of Hayward was driving a 2003 Dodge Viper eastbound on State Route 84 near Main Street in Sunol when the accident occurred.

For unknown reasons, Shur suddenly swerved to the left and crossed the double yellow center line, driving directly into the path of oncoming traffic on the two-lane rural highway, according to a KTVU News report.

Shur’s Dodge crashed head-on into a westbound 2012 Toyota pick-up truck driven by a 48-year-old man from Stockton.

The impact caused the Dodge to skid onto the dirt shoulder; it spun around and came to rest facing the opposite direction.  The Toyota truck, meanwhile, rolled over onto its left side and completely blocked the westbound lane.

A 2002 Chevrolet, driven by a 41-year-old man from Union City, was traveling directly behind the Toyota truck at the time of the accident. The driver of the Chevrolet braked and swerved to avoid the crash, according to the KTVU report, but his vehicle was struck by debris and was disabled in the westbound lane.

Shur died at the scene.

The driver of the Toyota truck and three of his passengers were taken to San Jose Regional Medical Center to be treated for minor injuries they suffered in the accident. The KTVU report said the victims were complaining of back pain.

The driver of the Chevrolet did not report any injuries.

What is a minor injury?

Police and firefighter classifications of “minor injuries” can be misleading. Even a so-called “minor” injury may be far more serious than it initially appears and can have a major impact on the victim’s life. Some injuries aren’t even evident until days or weeks after an accident.

Injuries that are designated as “minor” may include whiplash, strains, sprains, lacerations, and bone fractures. All of these types of injuries may vary in severity.

* Whiplash, for example, is neck injury caused by sudden jerking or “whipping” of the head, as often occurs in car accidents, according to the National Institutes of Health(NIH). It may not be noticed for several days, yet it can cause stiffness and numbness in the head, neck, back, shoulders, and arms. The initial symptoms may appear to go away and then return for months or even years, according to the NIH report.

* Strains and sprains are soft tissue injuries. Strains can cause pain, muscle spasms, swelling, and trouble moving the muscle, according to the NIH. Sprains involve pain, swelling, bruising, and being unable to move the joint. Initial treatment often requires taking time off work to rest the injury, sometimes followed by longer-term physical therapy.

* Lacerations include cuts, tears, and puncture wounds. A variety of factors determine how quickly a laceration may heal. Infection is always a risk with a laceration, and this risk can be particularly dangerous for diabetics. Even minor lacerations may cause permanent scars.

* Bone fractures are very common in car accidents. They can be extremely painful, and may involve swelling, bruising, or bleeding as well as numbness, tingling, and the inability to move a limb. Some fractures require surgery to implant plates, pins, or screws to keep the bone in place. The impact of a fracture on daily activities is immediate and often disabling. Follow-up surgery and physical therapy may stretch the recovery period to months.

Sunol Highway Accident Lawyers

One person was killed and three others seriously injured when a drowsy driver hit another vehicle on Highway 46 near Paso Robles.

Fatal highway crash: One person was killed and three others hospitalized Sunday night when a drowsy driver turned into oncoming traffic and crashed into another vehicle on Highway 46 in Shandon, about 15 miles east of Paso Robles.

•   A drowsy driver in an SUV made an unsafe turn, crossing a center line on a two-lane highway. He crashed head-on into an oncoming car.

•   The driver in the car was killed on impact. His passenger was hospitalized with serious injuries.

•   The SUV driver and his passenger also were hospitalized with serious injuries. 

The deadly car accident occurred 10 minutes before midnight, according to a report in the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

The California Highway Patrol said 32-year-old Marysville resident Eric Wellington was driving a 2002 Ford Expedition sports utility vehicle eastbound on Highway 46 at the time of the crash.

Wellington turned into oncoming traffic at McMillan Avenue and crashed head-on into a westbound 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix driven by 50-year-old Cirigo Arias of Kettleman City.

The violent impact to the left front side of the Grand Prix killed Arias instantly. The front wheel of the car was knocked off and the car spun out, finally stopping on the shoulder on the westbound side of the highway.

Meanwhile, the collision caused Wellington’s SUV to roll over, blocking both lanes of the highway.

Arias was pronounced dead at the scene. His passenger, 31-year-old Everado Martinez, suffered serious injuries. She was hospitalized at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, according to a KEYT News report.

Wellington and his passenger, 27-year-old Rosalie Wellington, also suffered serious injuries. They also were taken to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center to be treated.

The CHP said driver fatigue (Wellington) was a major factor in the accident. Alcohol and drugs did not appear to be involved.

Paso Robles Car Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

A schoolteacher was killed in a head-on collision on Highway 140 in Merced. (Photo: ABC News)

Fatal highway crash: A schoolteacher was killed Monday when her motorhome was slammed head-on by a pickup truck on Highway 140 near Merced.

•   A pickup truck driver lost control on a rural highway and veered into oncoming traffic.

•   The pickup truck crashed head-on into a motorhome with four people inside.

•   The motorhome driver died at the scene. All three of her passengers were hospitalized,

The deadly accident occurred shortly before 1 p.m., according to a report in the Fresno Bee.

Authorities said a black Dodge Dakota pickup truck, driven by 51-year-old Planada resident Ninfa Contreras-Garcia, was traveling westbound on Highway 140 when it drifted onto the right (north) shoulder of the roadway.

Contreras-Garcia tried to get back onto the highway, but overcorrected and drifted into the oncoming traffic lane, where the pickup truck slammed head-on into an eastbound Toyota motorhome driven by 51-year-old  Patricia Garske of Soquel.

Garske died at the scene, according to a report in the Merced Sun-Star.

There were three additional passengers in the motorhome. Two of them — 28-year-old Heather McAllister of Fremont and 16-year-old Xavier Hilton of Santa Cruz — suffered major injuries. McAllister was flown to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto. Hilton was flown to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto. The exact nature of their injuries was not released and their conditions were not known.

The third passenger, 16-year-old April Harlamoff of Soquel, suffered minor injuries. She was flown to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto to be treated. The nature and severity of her injuries was not known.

Contreras-Garcia, the driver of the pickup truck,  suffered minor injuries and was transported via ground ambulance to Mercy Medical Center in Merced to be treated.

Why Rural Highways Are Extremely Dangerous

Only 23 percent of the U.S. population lives in rural areas, but 57 percent of all motor vehicle accident fatalities occur on rural roads, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The NHTSA’s latest figures show that the fatality rate per vehicle miles traveled was 2.5 times higher in rural areas than in urban areas.

A large majority of car accident deaths in rural areas — 67 percent — occur on highways, where the speed limit is 55 mph or higher. In urban areas, the opposite is true: 68 percent of all fatal crashes occur on roads where the speed limit is less than 50 mph.

Rural highways often are only two lanes, which presents significant danger to motorists who use the oncoming traffic lane to pass at high speed.

Finally, hospitals are few and far between in rural areas. The risk of dying on the way to the hospital is significantly higher in a rural accident than an urban one.

Merced Car Accident Lawers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.

Three people were hospitalized after a Highway 29 crash in Lake County.

Three people were hospitalized with serious injuries Saturday after a head-on collision on Highway 29 in Lake County.

•   A woman lost control of her SUV on a rural highway, skidded and rolled across the center line into oncoming traffic.

•   An oncoming pickup truck hit the SUV head-on.

•   Both drivers and one of the passengers from the pickup truck were airlifted to a hospital with moderate to major injuries.

•   Alcohol did not appear to be a factor in the accident.

The rural highway accident occurred at 12:20 p.m., according to an article in the Lake County News.

The California Highway Patrol report stated that 47-year-old Annette Sykora-Finch of Hidden Valley Lake was driving her 1999 Ford Explorer southbound on Highway 29 at the time of the accident.

Sykora-Finch lost control of her vehicle south of Hofacker Lane and skidded across the double yellow line into the northbound lane of the highway, according to the CHP report.

The Explorer rolled over directly in the path of an oncoming 2000 Ford F250 pickup truck driven by 39-year-old Matthew Elliott of Lakeport. The pickup truck — which was carrying four passengers — crashed head-on into the Explorer.

Both drivers and one of the passengers, 35-year-old Shana Smith of Middletown, suffered moderate to major injuries, according to the CHP. All three were airlifted via helicopter to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital, about 40 miles away. The exact nature and severity of their injuries was not stated in the news reports.

The other three passengers in the pickup truck — a 22-year-old woman and 15-year-old girl, both from Clearlake, and a 2-year-old boy from Lakeport — were transported via ground ambulance to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake  to be examined as a precaution.

The CHP report said all six people involved in the accident were wearing seat belts. Alcohol did not appear to be a factor.

Why Rural Highways are Dangerous

Only 23 percent of the U.S. population lives in rural areas, but 57 percent of all motor vehicle accident fatalities occur on rural roads, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).

The NHTSA’s latest figures show that the fatality rate per vehicle miles traveled was 2.5 times higher in rural areas than in urban areas.

A large majority of car accident deaths in rural areas — 67 percent — occur on highways, where the speed limit is 55 mph or higher. In urban areas, the opposite is true: 68 percent of all fatal crashes occur on roads where the speed limit is less than 50 mph.

Rural highways often are only two lanes, which presents significant danger to motorists who use the oncoming traffic lane to pass at high speed.

Finally, hospitals are few and far between in rural areas. The risk of dying on the way to the hospital is significantly higher in a rural accident than an urban one.

Lake County Car Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.