Tab Mitchell Automobile Accidents Law Blog on Lawyers.com

Fatal accident on Hwy 129 involving Hollister elderly couple

Wednesday, March 31, 2010 by Tab Mitchell

Photo of Tab Mitchell

 By McClatchy-Tribune
News Service

A man died just after 5 p.m. when
his Honda sedan was broadsided by a Buick Roadmaster on Highway 129 just
west of the Chittenden Pass trestle, according to the California
Highway Patrol.



The elderly couple in the Buick were critically
injured in the crash, which happened about 100 yards west of a cross and
flowers marking the spot of another fatal accident on the rural
highway.

CHP officer Sarah Jackson said the Monday accident is
under investigation, but that the Buick's driver, James Libby, 84, of
Hollister, said he was traveling east when a silver Honda heading west
crossed the double yellow line in front of him.

Libby was unable
to stop and broadsided the passenger side of the Honda, Jackson said.
The force of the collision ripped the Honda in half, sending the engine
compartment and dashboard into an embankment next to the westbound lane
while the back end crumpled between the Buick and the embankment on the
opposite side of the highway. The Honda's muffler skidded east another
20 feet.

Libby and his wife, Marie, 77, were flown to a San
Francisco Bay Area trauma center.

Authorities could not confirm
the identity of the Honda driver late Tuesday.

The roads were
damp and a light rain was falling as emergency crews worked. The highway
was closed from Rogge Lane to Old Chittenden Road until 8:10 p.m.,
according to the CHP.

Highway 129, a busy two-lane road, has been
the site of numerous serious crashes.

Last April a Hollister man
was killed in almost the same spot as Monday's fatal crash when he lost
control of his pickup and was broadsided by a tractor-trailer.

This article was provided to you courtesy of The Mitchell Law Firm, San Jose accident attorneys, 800-345-4LAW, 501 San
Benito Street, 3rd Floor Hollister, CA 95023.

 
Posted at 23:38 PM
Topic: Automobile Accidents
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