OAKHURST — A two-car accident north of town sent two people to the hospital this afternoon, one by ground ambulance and one by Life Flight.
Just after 2 p.m. today a Modesto man was northbound on Highway 49 in a 1997 Honda, carrying a male passenger from Santa Maria. The driver rounded the corner just south of Harmony Lane while traveling at a stated speed of 45 miles per hour.
As he came around the corner, the 40-year-old driver allowed his vehicle to drift into the oncoming lane. He then over-corrected, causing his vehicle to roll, according to CHP.
Meanwhile, a 24-year-old female driver from Ahwahnee was southbound at the same location, in a 2003 Jeep Cherokee, carrying a 54-year-old male passenger.
As the Honda rolled in the southbound lane, it struck the front of the Jeep, rolling up on its hood and the windshield. The male passenger in the Honda, age 54, was pinned inside and had to be extricated by firefighters using the Jaws of Life. He was taken by ground ambulance to the landing zone at Vons in Oakhurst and transported to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno.
The driver of the Honda was taken by ground ambulance to John C. Fremont Hospital in Mariposa.
The female driver of the Jeep was reportedly uninjured, and the passenger suffered minor injuries, according to CHP.
The roadway was blocked for over an hour as the injured were transported and the scene was cleared. The accident remains under investigation.
