Mark Calegari, 44, suffered a broken neck and back – along with severe facial lacerations and broken bones – in the crash, which happened at around 2:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 2, according to his mother, Cobb resident and businesswoman Barbara Flynn.
The California Highway Patrol reported that Calegari was riding as a passenger in a 1983 Toyota pickup truck driven by 25-year-old Nate Fletcher. Flynn said the two men are friends.
Fletcher was heading westbound on Highway 175 west of Estates Drive when, as he was going into a lefthand curve, he allowed his vehicle to veer to the right and began to drive up a dirt embankment, according to the CHP report.
The front of Fletcher's Toyota struck a large rock which caused the truck to roll over to the left. The CHP said the pickup came to rest upside down blocking the westbound lane of traffic.
Flynn said her son had to be cut out of the vehicle. The CHP said Calegari was transported by REACH air ambulance to UC Davis Medical Center.
Fletcher sustained minor injuries, according to the CHP.
He was arrested about 40 minutes after the crash by CHP Officer Ryan Erickson, who the agency reported is the crash's investigating officer.
Fletcher was booked into the Lake County Jail on a felony charge of driving under the influence of alcohol causing bodily injury, with bail set at $10,000. Jail records indicated he is set to make a court appearance on Dec. 3.
Flynn said her son is now home from the hospital and on the mend.
She said he will have to wear a neck brace for his broken neck for at least three months.
The breaks in his lower back don't affect his spinal cord, so she said they should heal without surgery. However, those injuries appear to be giving Calegari the most pain.
However, as a mom, she's seeing signs of improvement.
“He is starting to look like himself and is getting ornery so he is definitely better,” she said.
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