LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – A Lucerne woman died Monday morning from injuries she sustained after her car was hit head-on by a pickup whose driver lost control on Highway 20 due to rainy conditions.
Elizabeth Town, 37, died at Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport, where the California Highway Patrol said she was taken after the early morning crash.
The CHP said the collision that killed Town involved three vehicles and occurred at 7:15 a.m. on Highway 20 west of Henderson Drive near Clearlake Oaks.
The other drivers involved were Brian O'Rourke, 30, of Sacramento and Frank Hutton III, 50, of Lucerne, the CHP said.
O'Rourke was driving his 2012 Chevrolet pickup westbound on Highway 20 west of Henderson Drive, while Town was headed eastbound in a 2007 Kia Rio with Hutton, in a 2005 Chevrolet PT Cruiser, directly behind Town, according to the report.
The CHP said O'Rourke was driving too fast for the wet roadway conditions, causing him to lose control as he was negotiating a righthand curve in the highway. The pickup went over the highway's double-yellow lines and into the eastbound lane, hitting Town head-on.
Town's car was pushed off the roadway and onto the south shoulder, where it hit a tree, the CHP said.
After hitting Town, the CHP said O'Rourke's pickup continued in the eastbound lane and side-swiped the driver's side of Hutton's vehicle.
The CHP said both O'Rourke and Hutton had minor injuries, with O'Rourke reporting pain in his left foot and Hutton suffering neck pain.
All three drivers were wearing their seat belts, the CHP said.
The agency said alcohol and drugs were not factors in the crash, which is being investigated by CHP Officer Mark Crutcher.
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