This in from the Bishop CHP :
On 11/21/2019, at approximately 5:15 AM, a blue Volvo Semi truck/trailer was making a turn from the Shell Gas Station, located in Pearsonville, CA, and onto northbound US-395. At the same time, a gray Honda CRV was traveling northbound along US-395 at an unknown rate of speed. As the semi truck was half way onto US-395, the Honda CRV collided with the left side of the semi truck and trailer. The driver of the Honda CRV sustained major injuries and was flown to Kern Medical Center in Bakersfield, CA. Two other passengers of the Honda CRV sustained fatal injuries at the collision scene. The driver of the semi truck was not injured in the collision. Both northbound lanes of US-395 were closed, but a detour route was made available. Personnel from the Inyo County Sheriff’s Department, Kern County Sheriff’s Department, Kern County Fire Department, Olancha Volunteer Fire Department, Inyo County Corroner’s Department, Caltrans, Sierra Life Flight, and the California Highway Patrol responded to the collision scene.
This collision is still under investigation by the California Highway Patrol. The identities of the deceased parties will be released through the Inyo County Corroner’s Office.
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”Underride accidents occur when passenger vehicles slide underneath tractor-trailers in collisions. These dangerous crashes often compromise the passenger compartments of vehicles and result in hundreds of deaths every year.
Despite the dangers, a solution exists: steel bars known as underride guards attached to the backs, fronts and sides of tractor-trailers that stop passenger vehicles from going underneath in the event of an accident. The U.S. government requires that tractor-trailers have rear guards but not front or side underride guards”
”The U.S. Department of Transportation has considered requiring side underride guards on tractor-trailers since the 1960s, and in 2014, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended a rule requiring both side and front guards. The agency cited a study that found that side guards reduced the impact in nine out of 10 underride collisions.”
”The proposed rule was not implemented after the trucking industry successfully lobbied the DOT to reject the recommendation. Industry representatives stated that the guards are not cost-effective and could result in dangerous weight increases to trailers and weakening of truck structures.”
I just learnt today, upon returning from overseas, for my friend W.S. to be one of the accident’s fatal victims. The many times I have travelled on 395 from LA, taking short stops, the lack of in ramps, merging back into the HWY presented a certain challenge. I keep discouraging my wife from trips to Mammoth for sometime now for a number of other reasons, but mostly due to the long commute. Large trucks merging into the road can present a significant safety detriment. RIP friend.
T.
It seems to me that if the oncoming vehicle was traveling at a safe and legal speed , they would have been able to avoid the collision. I reckon we’ll probably never know unless that car is equipped with a computer that’ll tell how fast they were going .
Time will tell what happened, either way it’s just tragic.
Although I don’t know any of the victims (I hope), seeing their skis laying there in the dirt hit home for me.
G. Lorent, sorry for your loss, our prayers are with you and their families.
Based on the article it seems the truck driver would be at fault for failing to yield to a oncoming vehicle.
Unless that oncoming vehicle was mis-judged by the truck driver because it was going well over the speed limit. The CHIPPIES constantly post copies of cites they write on Facebook of vehicles on 395 doing 100 plus . The computer in the car will tell the M.A.I.T. Investigators exactly how fast that car was going, and then we’ll all know for sure .
Speed kills…
While i know nothing about the facts of this incident, other than it is obviously tragic and sad, my best speculation on what occurred would be that the truck was pulling out from the Shell station and took both lanes in doing so. The car, travelling in the number 1 lane, hit the side of the truck….the truck completed its turn, ending up in the number 2 lane properly in the lane, dragging the car along with it, now pointed east.
Obviously it is never ok for a semi to take both lanes of a high speed highway, as it is on a city street. Why the driver of the car didn’t veer into the center median to avoid the semi is a big question.
being the accident took place at 5 am, perhaps both drivers were lulled into a sense of complacency.
Regardless of the actual cause, this was an awful awful accident. A reminder to us all how fragile life can be
I apologize for going off about my issues with the 395 in this sad report. It was a poor time for me to speak about a topic that really bothers me.
But I do hope Caltrans does do something about our deadly highway. Caltrans knows people shouldn’t be traveling that close to on coming traffic.
My apologies if I offended anyone here.
The 395 is reputed to be the most deadly road in CA. I’ve ran it up and down maybe a hundred times over the last 20 years. Some years ago, heading West from Ridgecrest, there used to be an intersection with seven or eight white crosses with flowers somewhere around Inyokern and 395 (or 14). Then they took them down. Too bad, it was a chilling reminder.
Highway 58 between Kramer junction and Barstow is worse.
These beautiful people were our friends. Trips to Mammoth will never be the same. We are heartbroken.
There is no merge lane there just a 90degree turn into a hwy. pretty unsafe. the car is so close to the cab the rig must have pulled out right in front of them … Half way my a**. No respect for right of way.
Almost Native I’m not sure how a real center divider would help in this case. They were both traveling northbound. It seems like speed and inattention, on the part of both drivers, is the likely cause.
There is a wide median at the Pearsonville Shell station. That would not have made a difference here because both vehicles were northbound. Maybe the grandkids will see 395 4-laned all the way.
I hate our highway all the way to the City of Mojave .
I have personally known four people killed or crippled between Bishop and Mojave and am sick of hearing of more.
Caltrans , every one of all these people would be here today if you would have put a real center divider in ! That’s a fact! I don’t care what you think!