MARIPOSA COUNTY – A head-on collision north of Mariposa this morning sent both drivers to the hospital with major injuries.
On Thursday, Sept. 17, at approximately 5:30 a.m., Richie Nicol, 27, of Aberdeen, Scotland, was driving a 2014 Chevrolet rental vehicle westbound on Highway 140 just east of Colorado Road. Mr. Nicol was driving in the wrong lane, according to CHP.
Sterling Johnson, 77, of Mariposa, was eastbound in a 2009 Honda in the same location, and neither driver was able to avoid the ensuing head-on collision.
Both drivers were trapped inside their vehicles due to the severity of collision, until EMS personnel were able to free them. Fortunately, both were wearing their seatbelts.
Both Nicol and Johnson suffered broken bones and were transported to valley hospitals.
Neither drugs nor alcohol were a factor in the collision, which remains under investigation.
