Updated Aug. 19, 3:12 p.m.–
A head-on vehicle collision on a residential side street behind Raley’s Tuesday night sent several people to the hospital and one man to jail on felony DUI and reckless driving charges, according to a Citrus Heights police sergeant on scene.
Sgt. Eric Dias said witness reports indicate the truck was driving recklessly and at “heavy speeds” while traveling south on Zenith Drive around 8:15 p.m., with the vehicle crashing head-on into a Chrysler PT Cruiser after trying to pass another car in the opposite lane of traffic.
Both vehicles sustained significant damage and Dias said the two occupants of the PT Cruiser were transported to a local hospital with unknown — but likely non-life-threatening — injuries. He said the driver of the truck refused medical treatment, but was later sent to the hospital prior to being booked in jail. The 36-year-old driver faces charges of felony reckless driving and “felony DUI causing injury,” the sergeant said.
[Related: See additional photo from the accident scene]
Nearby resident Denee Cagle said she was out walking on Zenith Drive with her husband and 9-month-old daughter when she witnessed the collision after almost being hit by the truck. She said the Dodge Dakota pickup had begun speeding and swerving just prior to colliding head-on right in front of her. The truck flipped on its side, ending up in front of a home on Zenith Drive near Brimstone Drive after knocking down a mailbox and spraying debris in the driveway.
[Also on The Sentinel: Pedestrian killed in Sunrise Blvd vehicle collision Sunday]
Cagle said she could have been walking right where the truck landed, had she not stopped to talk with a neighbor. She said the neighborhood has a history of drivers speeding “up and down the street” and advised others to stay alert while walking, “because you never know what’s coming up behind you.”
Crews responding to the scene had the debris cleaned up and vehicles towed off by about 9:30 p.m.
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