OAKHURST – A pair of crashes involving the same vehicle, on either side of Highway 49, sent the driver to the hospital after he rolled his car near the Jack-in-the-Box.
Just after 2 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 6, Richard Emerick, 84, of Coarsegold was driving a silver Lexus ES350 north through the parking lot of Raley’s.
John Miller, 76, of Oakhurst, was also headed north through the parking lot in a gold Toyota Prius when, for unknown reasons, Mr. Emerick accclerated towards the Prius, causing a collision, according to the CHP.
Immediately after the collision, Mr. Emerick reportedly appeared disoriented, put his car into reverse and drove around the Prius, continuing at a high rate of speed towards Highway 49. He then crossed all lanes of Highway 49, ran up the dirt bank on the other side of the road, went airborne and collided with a brick wall housing a trash dumpster.
At some point, the Lexus began overturning and collided with a parked red Toyota pickup in the Jack-in-the-Box parking lot, coming to rest on its wheels.
Mr. Emerick was transported to Community Regional Medical Center. It appeared that he was undergoing some type of medical episode at the time of the collisions, according to witnesses at the scene. The investigation is still ongoing.
