UPDATE, TUESDAY MORNING: From the California Highway Patrol:
On June 1, 2015, at approximately 1820 hours, Robert Hirsch was driving a 1999 Ford Expedition on SR-299 eastbound near milepost 31.33. The Ford was traveling at approximately 55 MPH on a wet roadway where the advised speed for a curve is 35 miles per hour. Hirsch applied the brakes in the curve, slid across both westbound lanes, and collided with the north guardrail. The Ford continued through the guardrail and then collided with a tree. The Ford came to rest approximately 15 feet over the embankment on its wheels. All four occupants were properly restrained at the time of the collision, and DUI is not believed to be a factor. Three of the occupants sustained minor injuries. One occupant sustained major injuries. All occupants were transported by ambulance to Mad River Community Hospital.
The California Highway Patrol - Humboldt Area responded to the scene and is conducting the investigation. The California Highway Patrol would like to thank the services provided at the scene by the Willow Creek Volunteer Fire Department, Hoopa Ambulance, U.S. Forest Service, and the Eureka Police Department.
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LoCO‘s CHP Watch alerts us to an accident on Highway 299 near Cedar Creek road in which a single vehicle careened over a guardrail and an estimated 50 feet down into a ditch. At 6:26 p.m., emergency personnel at the scene reported that one person was stuck inside the vehicle. Few other details, including the extent of injuries to the vehicle’s occupants, are known at this time.
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UPDATE, 7:26 p.m.: CHP Watch indicates major injuries.
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UPDATE, 7:45 p.m.: The person stuck in the vehicle has been extricated and loaded into an ambulance, as indicated in the scanner audio below: