CHP Officer involved in Coarsegold Accident

OAKHURST — Saturday, July 2nd, 2022 at approximately 6:30pm, a motor vehicle accident occurred in Coarsegold on Highway 41 near Road 415. Initial reports, included here in our original article, indicated that two vehicles were involved, the southbound lanes were blocked and one patient was pinned in their vehicle.

Once emergency crews arrived on scene they ordered an air ambulance for one of the patients and requested that the highway be closed down. It was at this point that crews determined a California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer was the patient that was pinned into his vehicle.

CHP investigators say the officer was on his way to a non-emergency call for service and that as he was headed southbound, another vehicle pulled out of a driveway in front of him. The officer was unable to stop in time. That’s when he became pinned in the vehicle.

After emergency crews freed the officer from the vehicle they were able to access his injuries more thoroughly and decided to cancel the air ambulance.

Authorities say the officer was taken to the hospital with injuries that do not appear to be life-threatening.

The people in the other vehicle were not injured.

Highway 41 reopened at approximately 8:15pm but the 4th of July holiday traffic remained backed up and slow throughout the evening.

Officials say drugs and alcohol did not contribute to the crash but they are still looking into whether speed was a factor.