From the California Highway Patrol:

On 6/13/2020, at approximate 5:12pm William Murphy was driving a 1992 Honda Civic northbound on US-101, just south of Redcrest, with three passengers. For reasons still under investigation, Murphy lost control of the Honda, which crossed over the southbound lanes and the southbound Redcrest on-ramp of US-101, and struck a tree west of the roadway. As a result of the collision, all four occupants sustained major injuries and were transported to St. Joseph Hospital. The three passengers were identified as Jordan Guthart, Jamie Maroni and Nicole Lang. Murphy, Lange and Maroni were transported via City Ambulance and Guthart was transported via Reach Air Ambulance. While at the hospital, Nicole Lange succumb to her injuries despite life saving efforts by medical staff.

The southbound Redcrest on and off-ramps for US-101 were closed for approximately three hours for extraction of the occupants and collision scene investigation. Personnel from Reach (air ambulance), Rio Dell Fire, Cal-Fire, Scotia Fire, City Ambulance, Humboldt County Sheriff Office, and Redcrest Fire responded to the scene.

This collision remains under investigation by the California Highway Patrol - Garberville Area.

At this time, drug or alcohol involvement is still under investigation.