OAKHURST – A head-on collision snarled traffic over Deadwood this morning and sent several people to the hospital, one with serious injuries.
Just after 7 a.m., Sherry Lynn Abraugh Getchell, 40, of Oakhurst was southbound on Highway 41 just north of Road 425B near the top of Deadwood in a 2005 Chevy Trailblazer. According to CHP, she was driving in the opposing lane of traffic.
Debra Essary, of Coarsegold, was northbound in 2003 Jeep Liberty, when she was struck head-on by Getchell’s vehicle.
Getchell was trapped in her SUV and had to be extracted by emergency responders.
A passenger in Getchell’s vehicle suffered major injuries and was transported to the landing zone at Vons where SkyLife air ambulance was waiting to airlift the patient to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno.
There was one more passenger in the Trailblazer who suffered unknown injuries, as did the driver of the Jeep, according to CHP. Two patients were transported by Sierra Ambulance to CRMC, and one declined to be taken to the hospital.
The northbound lane was blocked, and one-lane traffic control was put in place for over an hour as the injured were tended to and the scene cleared.
The accident is under investigation.
