FRESNO – Two Coarsegold women suffered major injuries in a multi-vehicle accident in Fresno over the weekend, when one stopped to assist the other after a crash on a busy freeway.
On June 9 at approximately 10:16 a.m., Hilary Anne Rak, 50, was riding a 2002 Harley Davidson eastbound on SR-180 near Peach Avenue in the number 2 lane.
Ms. Rak was traveling at an unknown speed when she lost control of the Harley, according to CHP. She was ejected from the motorcycle and became airborne, landing in the number 2 lane of eastbound SR-180.
Deborah Terry, 63, was traveling behind Ms. Rak and witnessed the crash. She stopped her vehicle behind where Rak was lying, got out and ran to assist the injured woman.
Two other vehicles were approaching the accident scene, both also eastbound in the number 2 lane. The first was a Dodge, and this driver hit his brakes and quickly steered into the number 1 lane to avoid a collision with Ms. Terry’s stopped car.
The second was a Toyota, and this driver saw the brake lights of the Dodge and the abrupt lane change, and then he saw Ms. Terry’s parked vehicle ahead of him. He steered to the left into the number 1 lane to avoid hitting the women, but hit the Dodge instead. This caused the Toyota to spin around into the original accident scene, where it struck both Terry and Rak.
Both women sustained serious injuries and were transported to Community Regional Medical Center. The other drivers involved were uninjured.
The accident remains under investigation.
