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Tag: Crash

Driver crashes through storefront windows on Greenback Lane

A police officer talks to the driver of a car which crashed through a Citrus Heights storefront, Monday morning.

Originally published Nov. 2, 12:47 p.m.
Updated, 4:13 p.m.–
Citrus Heights police said a “misunderstanding” between a driver’s brake and accelerator pedals sent a vehicle crashing through storefront windows in a Greenback Lane shopping center near San Juan Avenue, Monday morning — the second such incident to hit the shopping center in the past year.

Donna Chin, who works as a graphics designer at All Awards, said she arrived to find “a sea” of police and fire personnel outside the store shortly after 9 a.m. She said another employee, who arrived early for work, heard a “huge bang and saw glass flying through the door.”

Patrol Sergeant Kris Frey said no one was injured in the solo-vehicle collision, and the car was still operable with “minor to moderate” front-end damage. He said the late-model Toyota had hopped a low curb and crashed through several glass windows and a dividing wall between the awards shop and neighboring nail salon.

Sergeant Frey said police determined neither alcohol or drugs were involved in the crash and said no citation was issued for the driver. He said the female driver involved appeared to be in her mid-forties.

[See additional photo from scene]

Staff at the damaged awards and engraving shop said there were no ill-feelings toward the driver and were glad no one had been injured in the crash. Damage estimates to the shop could not be immediately assessed, but were described by All Awards staff as “extensive.”

“Obviously we have to get it repaired,” said employee Adrienne Isaac, as she cleaned up glass shards on the floor after the incident. She jokingly added, “We’re not becoming a drive-thru service.”

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A similar incident occurred in the same shopping center last October, when a driver crashed his Volvo into the nearby Safeway store. That collision was also believed to have been a gas pedal mix-up.

[From last year: Volvo Crashes Through Front of Safeway on Greenback]

Update: The female driver involved was later confirmed to be the owner of the neighboring nail salon.

November 2, 2015
Pedestrian killed in vehicle collision Sunday; PD closes lanes

Citrus Heights police officers investigating on-scene after a pedestrian was fatally struck on Sunrise Boulevard, Sunday morning.

Updated Aug. 17, 6:14 p.m.–
Citrus Heights police closed down several lanes at a busy Sunrise Boulevard intersection Sunday morning after a 28-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed by a vehicle while attempting to cross the street.

Traffic Sgt. Dave Gutierrez said the fatal collision occurred around 5:13 a.m. at the intersection of Sunrise Boulevard and Old Auburn Road, with an investigation revealing the pedestrian was hit while crossing in a crosswalk — but during a “don’t walk” signal.

According to a police news release, officers responding to the scene attempted lifesaving efforts on the pedestrian, but the man was determined to have been killed upon impact by Metro Fire personnel on scene. The pedestrian was later identified by the Sacramento County Coroner’s office as Joseph Downing, who was described by family members as “high-functioning autistic,” according to Sgt. Gutierrez.

An investigation following the incident resulted in several lanes on Sunrise Boulevard near the intersection of Old Auburn Road being closed down for at least six hours on Sunday. Sgt. Gutierrez said the extended road closure is standard for any fatality and was necessary for officers to investigate and “forensically map the entire intersection.”

The 58-year-old driver involved cooperated with the investigation, according to police, and it was determined the vehicle had been traveling on a green light when the collision occurred.

Although police said Citrus Heights saw no pedestrian fatalities last year, Sunday’s tragedy marks the second such fatality of 2015 within city limits. The incident earlier this year occurred around 2 a.m. on Valentine’s Day at the intersection of Auburn Boulevard and Kanai Avenue, with the 26-year-old woman involved passing away several days later from critical injuries.

[See story: Police close Auburn Blvd for 10hrs after Valentine’s Day crash]

“We take this as a critically important issue,” said Sgt. Gutierrez, reflecting on the pedestrian deaths this year. “But it’s important that pedestrians utilize the crosswalks [properly].”

Gutierrez said neither alcohol nor speed appear to be a factor in Sunday’s collision.
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August 17, 2015
Pedestrian in critical condition after being hit by car on Auburn Blvd

A 22-year-old man was sent to the hospital in critical condition Saturday night, after Citrus Heights police said he was hit by a car at 40-miles-an-hour while attempting to cross Auburn Boulevard outside of a crosswalk.

[box][Related: a Valentine’s Day crash involving a pedestrian shut down Auburn Boulevard near Kanai Avenue for 10 hours. See story: “Police close Auburn Blvd for 10hrs after Valentine’s Day crash”][/box]

Officers closed down northbound lanes on Auburn Boulevard after a pedestrian was struck by a car, Saturday night.

Sergeant Mike Wells said the collision occurred around 7 p.m. Saturday, when a Toyota Matrix hit the man in the northbound lanes of Auburn Boulevard, near the intersection of Twin Oaks Avenue. The collision caused police to shut down both northbound lanes for about five hours, re-opening traffic just before 1 a.m. Sunday, according to an email advisory sent out by police dispatchers.

Wells said the pedestrian was able to cross southbound lanes successfully before being struck in the northbound lanes, resulting in “major injuries.” Significant damage on the Toyota’s driver-side bumper and fender area was noticeable at the accident scene.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation, according to Wells, but neither speed nor alcohol appear to be a factor.

Wells said the Department “would like to remind all pedestrians to not cross the street outside of a marked crosswalk or controlled intersection.”

<<Related: Police had set up a DUI Checkpoint on Auburn Boulevard several hundred feet from the crash site, just one night before: “Weekend DUI Checkpoint nets 1 arrest, 6 tows”>>

Significant damage to the front driver-side was observed on a Toyota Matrix which collided with a pedestrian on Auburn Boulevard, Saturday night.

January 19, 2015
Sunrise Blvd closed briefly after injury crash involving tree

A two-vehicle collision caused a portion of Sunrise Boulevard to be temporarily closed after sending one vehicle into a tree and several people to the hospital Sunday, according to a sergeant with the Citrus Heights Police Department.

An officer directs traffic at Oak Avenue after police closed off a portion of Sunrise Boulevard, Sunday afternoon.

Around 5 p.m. Sunday, police responded to a call of a vehicle collision with a tree, where officers on scene discovered that two vehicles had collided, causing one to end up off the road and into a tree, according to CHPD Sergeant Michael Wells.

Police said several people from both vehicles were transported to the hospital “for complaints of pain and precautionary reasons,” and portions of Sunrise Boulevard near Sayonara Drive up to Oak Avenue were closed while vehicles were towed from the scene.

Sunrise Boulevard was reopened shortly after 6 p.m.

December 30, 2014
CRIME UPDATE: red-light runner fled scene of 4-car crash at Sunrise/Greenback

Citrus Heights police said this morning that a four-car accident Thursday night was caused by a female suspect who fled the scene after running a red light and ramming another vehicle in the intersection of Greenback Lane and Sunrise Boulevard.

“Initial reports are that the driver of [a] Cadillac ran a red light and broadsided another vehicle,” said Citrus Heights Police Department Sergeant Bryan Fritsch, who indicated the suspect was driving at a “high rate of speed” on Greenback Lane and fled the scene on foot afterwards. He said the suspect had been identified as a woman in her thirties, but added, “the status of her arrest is unknown at this time.”

The collision occurred just after 8 p.m. Thursday, partially blocking traffic at the intersection as about a dozen officers responded to the scene and diverted Sunrise Boulevard traffic to Greenback Lane.

The driver of the broadsided Hyundai was taken to a local hospital with unknown injuries, while drivers of the two other vehicles involved were uninjured, according to police.

All details have not been released yet, as police say the investigation is still underway. The incident is likely to have been caught on the intersection’s red light cameras, which take video of activity occurring after a light turns red.

November 10, 2014
4-car collision blocks Sunrise/Greenback intersection

Updated Nov. 8, 7:59 a.m.–
A collision involving at least four cars at the intersection of Sunrise Boulevard and Greenback Lane blocked several lanes of traffic Thursday night, as about a dozen officers responded to the scene.

“Citrus Heights has a road closure due to a collision,” Senior Dispatcher Tina Mack with the Citrus Heights Police Department said in an email alert to media around 8:30 p.m. Thursday. “All southbound Sunrise Boulevard lanes are closed at Greenback Lane. Traffic is diverted to eastbound and westbound Greenback Lane.”

By 10 p.m. all lanes had been re-opened.

Police did not return a phone call requesting comment Friday morning. Reports of injuries and the cause of collision are unknown at this time.

*Editor’s note: Latest updates on this collision were posted in this follow-up story: “CRIME UPDATE: red-light runner fled scene of 4-car crash at Sunrise/Greenback”

November 7, 2014
Volvo Crashes Through Front of Safeway on Greenback

A man backed his Volvo into the font of Safeway on Greenback Lane, causing damage to the frontage, Saturday. //CH Sentinel

Citrus Heights’ Safeway received an unwanted cosmetic adjustment over the weekend when a driver rammed his older-model Volvo into the front of the building, damaging a large pillar and part of the front wall.

According to employees, the crash resulted in a “ton of smoke,” accompanied by the smell of burning rubber in the store, which lingered for several hours afterwards.

A witness said the incident occurred when an “elderly gentleman” began backing up from his parking spot, but continued in reverse past an oncoming car — ripping the front bumper off the other vehicle — and then crashing through the side of a column before finally coming to a halt just outside Safeway’s entry doors, narrowly missing a family.

“I was scared,” a Safeway employee was overheard saying afterwards. “All I heard was a crash, and then saw a bunch of smoke.”

Although causing quite a scene for shoppers, reports indicate that no one was hurt in the incident and that the building did not suffer any structural damage.

The driver who had her front bumper ripped off by the runaway Volvo called the event an “accident,” and wasn’t upset with the driver for hitting her car, believing he had likely mixed up the gas and brake pedals.

October 21, 2014
Citrus Heights shooting leaves one dead; police seek witnesses

[box]Jan. 16, 2015 update — The shooting is still under investigation and no arrest has been made so far, according to police spokesperson Anthony Boehle.[/box]

A Friday night shooting in Citrus Heights has left one man dead after police say his vehicle was struck by gunfire and collided with a light pole near Sayonara Drive and Lialana Way, according to a police department press release sent out today.

“The Citrus Heights Police Department and our community will not tolerate such violent crime in our neighborhoods,” said Lieutenant Ryan Kinnan. “We believe someone has information concerning this crime and are asking those individuals to come forward.”

Around 11:22 p.m. last night, officers were dispatched in response to a report of shots fired and later reports of a vehicle collision, according to police. Upon arrival, they located the vehicle and “performed life saving measures” on the unidentified unconscious male driver, until paramedics arrived and transported him to a local hospital where police say he was pronounced deceased.

A preliminary investigation indicates the shooting was not a random act and police are asking residents in the area with outdoor security cameras are asked to review their video footage to identify if they may have captured any details related to the incident.

Police say witnesses reported the shots were fired from a vehicle last seen heading west on Sayonara Drive, but are seeking more information.

The details involving the suspect and suspect vehicle are still under investigation, and anyone who may have information related to the incident is encouraged to contact the Investigative Service Division at 916-727-5500.

September 20, 2014