CAR ACCIDENT: Car Overturns on Highway 37, Five College Students Injured
December 10, 2010
Vallejo - Four college students from Pacific Union College and a graduate of Napa County College were injured in an early morning car crash Friday, the California Highway Patrol said.
The accident occurred around 4 am after a 2009 Toyota Corolla traveling west on Highway 37 at an unknown speed exited into Wilson Avenue off-ramp, struck a dirt embankment, and overturned several times. The driver, Bruce J. Paki, 22, reportedly fell asleep, according to the CHP.
Two women in the backseat, Tselal Seeye and Michelle Kim, were not wearing seatbelts and suffered moderate to major injuries when they were ejected out of the car through the rear window. The right rear tire landed on Seeye, CHP Sgt. Phil Grant said. Both were taken to the John Muir Medical Center.
The other two passengers were identified as Phaneal Haimanot and Kristin Bowen. Haimanot suffered moderate injuries while Bowen had minor ones. Along with Paki who also sustained minor injuries, the two were sent to Kaiser Permanente Vallejo Medical Center.
The accident shut down Wilson Avenue off-ramp for 45 minutes. CHP assumes that speed is a factor in the crash, but alcohol is being investigated as another factor as well.