LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A Sunday evening solo vehicle crash near Middletown led to the death of a child, as well as major injuries for two others and a small vegetation fire.
The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said the crash occurred at 5:28 p.m. Sunday on Highway 29 north of Hilderbrand Drive.
Authorities did not release the name of the 10-year-old girl who was fatally injured in the wreck.
The CHP said Manuel Santos Torres, 24, of Middletown was driving a 2007 BMW 550i northbound on Highway 29 with Jennifer Palalia-Zuniga, 26, and the 10-year-old girl, both of them also from Middletown, riding as his passengers.
For reasons that the CHP said are still under investigation, the BMW veered off the east side of the roadway and hit multiple trees.
Due to the force of the impact, the BMW caught fire and began a small vegetation fire, which the CHP said was extinguished quickly.
The CHP said emergency personnel removed the three occupants from the BMW.
The child died of her injuries at the scene, the CHP said.
Santos Torres and Palalia-Zuniga, both of whom were wearing their seat belts, sustained major injuries and were transported to Adventist Health Clear Lake Hospital for treatment, the CHP said.
Radio reports indicated air ambulances couldn’t fly because of the weather on Sunday.
The CHP said neither drugs nor alcohol are suspected as factors in the wreck.
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Sunday crash kills child, injures two others and causes fire
- Elizabeth Larson
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