Tragedy struck the Sacramento Valley Hi/North Laguna neighborhood on Thursday, May 4, 2023 when an 18-year-old woman was killed and six others were taken to hospitals following a serious crash involving a stolen vehicle.
The sedan collided with a pickup truck around 4:30 PM near Franklin Blvd and Calvine Rd, according to authorities, and fire crews worked to free seven total patients from the two vehicles. According to Cosumnes Community Service District Fire Department’s social media, all seven were taken to hospitals where one woman was pronounced dead.
The incident began when an Elk Grove police officer spotted a vehicle that had been reported stolen traveling in heavy traffic on Franklin Blvd near Laguna Blvd. This was according to Elk Grove Police Department Spokeswoman Officer Cristina Gonzalez. Before the patrol car even initiated any type of pursuit, or activated its lights or siren, the stolen vehicle “took off” likely due to the driver seeing law enforcement.
After the vehicle sped off, it ended up crashing in Sacramento Police Department jurisdiction and the 18-year-old woman involved suffered fatal injuries in the two-vehicle crash. Photos of the incident showed a terrifying scene of a completely totaled sedan having jumped the curb and seemingly landed near a wall after.
“This collision is cataclysmic in nature,” said Singleton Schreiber partner Brett Schreiber. “The photos are awful, law enforcement was seemingly involved, an 18-year-old has lost her life and the lives of a half-dozen others are changed forever. We hope no further deaths or significant injures are reported.”
To contact Singleton Schreiber’s Sacramento car accident attorneys, contact the firm at (916) 248-8478 or via email at info@singletonschreiber.com.
Sacramento Valley Hi Car Accident
Car accidents in Sacramento are steadily increasing. In 2020, there were 2,931 reported accidents, and in 2021 there were 3,842. That’s a roughly 30% increase in a short period of time.
Sacramento car accident wrongful deaths have also been on the rise. They started to shrink, dropping from 66 in 2017 to 40 in 2020. But in 2021, they jumped back up to 58, which is again a roughly 30% increase.
Even scarier, a number of the people killed in Elk Grove car accidents and Sacramento car accidents were pedestrians. In 2019, 13 of the people who died in car wrecks were pedestrians and that number jumped to 22 in 2021.
Car and truck accidents in Sacramento can have a number of root causes:
- Distracted drivers
- Driving under the influence (DUI)
- Poorly maintained vehicles
- Criminal pursuit
- And many more
Sacramento alcohol-related accidents have also been on the rise of late.
Car and truck accidents linked to alcohol surged in 2021. There were 424 cases of DUI-related car crashes in 2021, up again roughly 30% from 2020. These statistics are terrifying. People in most large and mid-size cities are driving more post-covid. This is because many have become accustomed to social distancing as a safer, healthier way to travel. That coupled with the rise of homelessness in California which can make public transportation an uncomfortable experience, more people are on the roads. Freeways are clogged, roadways are packed and obviously this is having a major impact on the very health and safety of people in Sacramento.
In 2021, there were 18 alcohol-related car accidents in Sacramento, up from 11 in 2020. Overall, there is an uptick in accidents, fatalities, pedestrian deaths, DUI-related accidents and deaths over the last few years.
There are also specific roads which are very dangerous. In Sacramento, there is a one-mile stretch of Florin Road from 24th Street to Munson Way that is noted as extremely dangerous. That one section saw 192 car accidents in just a nine-year period.
“The people of Elk Grove and Sacramento deserve safe roads, whether they are driving, riding a bicycle or walking,” said Sacramento car accident lawyer Brett Schreiber. “The idea that someone can be injured or worse while enjoying the night air or bringing their child to little league practice is awful. In this car and truck crash in Sacramento Valley Hi, those injured may be eligible for compensation for their injuries, and they should pursue a sophisticated attorney to represent them.”
To contact Singleton Schreiber’s Elk Grove truck accident attorneys, contact the firm at (916) 248-8478 or via email at info@singletonschreiber.com.
