Recent storms increase traffic crashes in area
Teen boy dies in recent incident near Loleta
A slew of car crashes, including one that caused the death of a 16-year-old Fortuna boy, have peppered Humboldt County since a winter storm brought hail, rain and snow to roads.
Arcata CHP's Officer Paul Craft attributed the increase of crashes to storm impacts such as wet roads.
“It's been worse than we've had in previous years, with the exception of the big ice storm,” he said.
Wet roads are one of the factors being investigated by CHP, along with mechanical issues or driver error, in a fiery crash that led to the death of a 16-year-old boy March 5.
Daniel Ramierez of Fortuna died at the scene of a crash in the Loleta area after two occupants were trapped in a 2001 Nissan Frontier that collided with a semi-truck. The other occupant, Guadalupe Ramirez, 65, of Fortuna, was successfully pulled out of the burning car by the driver of the semi-truck and a bystander, according to a report from California Highway Patrol.
Guadalupe Ramirez suffered major injuries and was taken to Providence St. Joseph Hospital. The driver of the truck, Logan Morais, 20, of McKinleyville, was uninjured. The release said drug and alcohol impairment of Morais was ruled out at the scene.
“Right now, we're still trying to collect witness statements, review any possible video and contact anyone that was in the area,” said Craft, adding the CHP spoke to a few witnesses in the past couple of days.
The day with the most collisions reported to California Highway Patrol out of the storm was March 3, when hail fell on roads around Humboldt Bay. CHP reported 12 local crashes, with more likely unreported or the jurisdiction of other agencies. Craft said that overall, crashes have caused damages to guardrails and barriers between lanes of traffic, like along state Route 299, and Caltrans is working on repairs.
The Eureka Police Department responded to a crash March 2 on U.S. Highway 101 south of Airport Road. A news release from the department said a single vehicle crashed and a driver was ejected from the vehicle.
“EPD and HBF personnel arrived on scene and immediately began providing medical care to the driver. The driver was the only occupant of the vehicle. The driver, a 19-year-old female from Arcata, was transported to a local hospital by City Ambulance for major, life-threatening injuries,” the news release stated.
The release said the cause appears to be combination of speed, wet roadways and winter weather as contributing factors, with no indication DUI was a factor.
Laura Montagna, a spokesperson for EPD said in an email that recent traffic accidents have mainly been vehicles. To date, EPD has 51 traffic collisions for 2024. Two accidents occurred at the intersection of Harris and Union streets.
Craft said most of the crashes CHP responded to were related to property damage, with some minor injuries.
“Most of them have been weather-related, and when you add that into the regular crashes that we'll be handling during this time,
it does put a strain on our response. Not just the times but even ability to respond at times,” he said, encouraging drivers to move cars off the highway if they're able to and to report a crash to CHP's office if an officer didn't respond to the scene of a crash.
EPD's news release and Craft encouraged drivers to slow down.
“That is the No. 1 way to help reduce or prevent being involved in a crash. Especially during the inclement weather times,” said Craft. He encouraged drivers to stay vigilant with more wet weather on the way and if they must travel, bringing supplies and charged phones.
One recent collision likely caused by driving under the influence was a crash the morning of March 2 into Family Nails and Spa, a closed business.
Paul Casanas, 57, of Eureka was arrested for allegedly driving under the influence and driving with a license suspended after a previous DUI, an EPD news release stated. He drove a vehicle off the road, struck a fire hydrant and crashed into the building at Wabash and Broadway. He was booked at the Humboldt County Jail and released later that day, according to jail reports.