Key Metrics
20.0
Heat Index-
Impact LevelMedium
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Scope LevelLocal
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Last Update2025-08-04
Key Impacts
Positive Impacts (2)
Negative Impacts (1)
Event Overview
Simultaneous traffic incidents involving impaired driving and lane violations highlight urban safety challenges. The collisions, occurring in a localized area within minutes, underscore risks associated with reckless driving behaviors and their legal consequences. Public safety concerns are amplified by the involvement of a DUI arrest and head-on collision dynamics.
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CHP Releases Details on Two Vehicle Crashes in Sonora on July 31
On Thursday, July 31, 2024, two vehicle crashes occurred within minutes of each other at opposite ends of downtown Sonora, California, resulting in injuries and a DUI arrest. According to CHP spokesperson Officer Steve Machado, the first crash happened around 10:20 a.m. on Highway 108, west of Old Wards Ferry Road. Patricia Hartzell, 41, of Sonora, was driving a 2004 Honda Pilot westbound when she allowed her vehicle to cross over the double yellow line. The Honda collided head-on with a 2019 GMC Sierra driven by Carlos Salazar, 68, of Stockton, who had a passenger, Marie Salazar, 74, also of Stockton. After the initial collision, Hartzell's Honda continued out of control, crashing into a 2012 Subaru Legacy driven by Kay Nordvik, 60, of Copperopolis.
Salazar and his passenger sustained minor injuries and were transported by ground ambulance to Adventist Health Sonora. Hartzell suffered minor injuries and was taken to Doctors Medical Center. No information on the condition of Nordvik was provided in the article. The release from CHP indicates that one of these collisions resulted in a DUI arrest but does not specify which driver was arrested.
A second collision occurred three minutes later at 10:45 a.m. on Highway 49 north of Old Sonora-Columbia Road. Michael Bellinger, 43, of Sonora, was riding his bicycle northbound when he was struck by the passenger side of a 2019 Ford sedan driven by Nicholas Chase, 43, of Sonora. Chase had allowed his vehicle to drift onto the shoulder. Bellinger sustained major injuries and was taken to Memorial Medical Center. Chase was uninjured. Officer Machado clarified, “This crash was originally called in as a hit and run; however, after further investigation, it was determined that it was not a hit and run.”
Both crashes resulted in stalled traffic in the area. Investigations into the circumstances of the incidents are ongoing.