Two traffic crashes last week, one with pets

January 4, 2018

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Idyllwild Garage started to return this upside-down vehicle to standing order to tow. On Thursday, Dec. 28, a white pickup driving southbound on Highway 243 crossed over into the northbound lane around 1 p.m. according to California Highway Patrol Officer Graham Aanestad. Jane Meier, 66, of San Diego County, who also owns a home in Idyllwild, was traveling northbound in her Toyota Highlander when she swerved to the right to avoid a head-on collision with the white pickup, causing her to hit a boulder, which flipped the car onto its roof. Two dogs and two cats were in the vehicle. They were a little shook up but uninjured. Meier complained of knee pain, but was not transported to a hospital. The white pickup did not stop nor did it hit Meier’s vehicle. The U.S. Forest Service, Idyllwild Fire Department, Riverside County Fire, CHP and Idyllwild Garage all helped in clearing the scene. Photo by Jenny Kirchner

Two vehicle crashes occurred on Hill roads last week, according to official California Highway Patrol reports. A third occurred but no official report was completed.

At 2:30 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 27, Jose Meza, 41, of San Diego, was driving a white 2017 Chevy truck westbound on Highway 74, 5 miles west of McCall Park Road, when, in trying to execute a left curve in the road, he allowed his vehicle to drift to the right onto the dirt shoulder and hit a rock. Meza was not injured, had no passengers with him and no other vehicles were involved. The vehicle was towed by Idyllwild Garage.

At 1:05 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 28, Jane Meier, 66, of Bonita (with a home in Idyllwild), was driving a silver 2004 Toyota Highlander northbound on Highway 243, miles north of the intersection with Highway 74 in Mountain Center, when, according to Meier, she swerved to avoid hitting a white pickup that had crossed over the double-yellow line. CHP Public Information Officer Darren Meyer said his agency could not document the fact of the truck since it was not at the scene at the time of the officer’s arrival.

In making an abrupt swerving movement, Meier’s vehicle collided with the mountainside and overturned. Although Meier complained of pain to her knee, she did not request transport. There were no human passengers in the car, but according to TC photographer Jenny Kirchner who was at the scene, there were two dogs and two cats.

Canines and felines were uninjured, although shaken up, in the crash. Meier’s vehicle was towed by Idyllwild Garage.

According to Kirchner and a CHP note, at around 7:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 30, a black Ford Mustang driven by Brent Parker (age and address not available) veered off the road on Highway 74 at the intersection of Highway 243, closing the westbound lane of Highway 74 for a time until the vehicle could be removed. Fire departments were initially called because of potential fire danger, but were canceled upon arrival.

Meyer said Parker declined filing a CHP report, which was his right since no other vehicles were involved or damaged. Meyer said that was why the information the CHP had was not as complete as other incidents in which a formal report is filed.