Tag

Unsafe passing caused a fatal accident on Highway 1 near Hearst Castle. (Photos: San Luis Obispo Tribune)

A Paso Robles man has been charged with vehicular homicide for causing a fatal car accident Monday on Highway 1 near Hearst Castle in San Simeon. The suspect tried to pass a tour bus on a blind curve and crashed head-on into a car in which the victim was a passenger.

•   A man driving a pickup truck tried to pass a slower-moving tour bus on the narrow, two-lane coastal highway near Hearst Castle.

•   The truck moved into the oncoming traffic lane but the driver couldn’t see the road ahead. He slammed into a passenger car.

•   A woman in the car died at the scene. The man driving the car suffered critical injuries.

•   The pickup truck driver suffered moderate injuries and was jailed on charges of vehicular homicide with gross negligence.

The accident occurred at about 4:30 p.m., according to an article in the San Luis Obispo Tribune.

The California Highway Patrol reported that 55-year-old Jeffrey P. LaChance of Paso Robles was driving a Toyota Tundra pickup truck/SUV on the winding two-lane coastal highway when he attempted to pass a Holiday Inn tour bus on a blind curve.

The Tundra drove into the oncoming traffic lane at passing speed and sideswiped the bus, clipping the left front wheel well, CHP officer Ward Sterling said.

Directly in front of the bus — and out of LaChance’s view — was an oncoming Toyota Camry driven by 61-year-old Peter D. Fuller of Emmaus, Pennsylvania (north of Philadelphia). The Tundra slammed head-on into the Camry.

The Tundra and Camry then skidded into the tour bus, and the Tundra ricocheted off, hitting a Chrysler Town & Country van. The Tundra rolled over onto its side.

The Camry passenger, 63-year-old Joan B. Fuller, also of Emmaus, died at the scene. Her husband, Peter D. Fuller, suffered critical head injuries and was transported to the trauma unit at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo. He was still in a coma as of Tuesday morning.

The Tundra driver suffered moderate injuries. He was taken to  Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton, where he was treated and released into police custody.  He was arrested on charges of vehicular homicide with gross negligence and booked into the county jail.

No other injuries were reported.

The accident is still under investigation.

San Simeon 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.