UPDATE: Mammoth Mayor Rick Wood said Suzanne Stokes “was a mentor without knowing it.  She always communicated positive energy.”

Accident scene. CHP photo

PRESS RELEASE:

The CHP reported that 86-year-old Suzanne Stokes of Mammoth Lakes was killed in a head-on collision south of Bridgeport when her Subaru hit the vehicle driven by Barbara Koehler, 62 of Minden, Nevada.  The CHP report follows:

On Tuesday, January 14, 2014, at approximately 12:24 P.M., California Highway Patrol (CHP) Bishop Communications Center (BICC) received a report of a head-on traffic collision on US-395, south of Bridgeport.  Upon arrival, CHP officers located a Subaru wagon and a GMC van blocking the southbound lane of US-395.  The driver of the Subaru was deceased at the scene of the collision.  The driver of the GMC was transported to Bridgeport by Mono County Paramedics, then transferred to a Care Flight air ambulance.  She was then flown to Renown Medical Center in Reno, Nevada, Mono County’s closest trauma center for treatment of her injuries.

Bridgeport Fire Department, Mono County Sheriff’s Department, Mono County Paramedics and California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) all responded to the scene to provide assistance.  Preliminary information indicates the Subaru crossed the center line of the roadway into the southbound lane, colliding with the van.  The exact sequence of the events and the cause of the collision remain under investigation by the CHP.  The Mono County Sheriff-Coroner Department arranged for removal of the deceased and will determine the cause of death of Suzanne Stokes.

Lieutenant R. D. Cohan, Commander of CHP’s Bridgeport Area “Wishes to extend his condolences to the family of Suzanne Stokes, and all our best wishes to Barbara Koehler for a speedy recovery. ”