80-year-old woman killed in suspected DUI crash in Northern California, CHP says
An 80-year-old Grass Valley woman was killed in a two-vehicle crash Monday afternoon in rural Northern California, authorities said. The other driver was arrested on suspicion of DUI.
The crash happened shortly after 3 p.m. on Brunswick Road near Highway 174 in Nevada County’s Cedar Ridge area, the California Highway Patrol’s Grass Valley office said in a news release.
CHP officers and fire personnel responded to find a woman trapped inside a 2006 Mercedes. She was pronounced dead at the scene, CHP officials said.
Investigating officers determined that the other driver, identified as 81-year-old Gerald Nelson of Colfax, was driving a 1994 Dodge pickup truck on westbound Brunswick Road when he failed to negotiate a sharp curve and crossed into incoming traffic, authorities wrote.
The Dodge broadsided the Mercedes before crashing into a pole and street sign, according to the CHP.
Officers said they determined Nelson to be under the influence of alcohol and he was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI. Nelson was taken to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries, then booked into the Nevada County Jail, authorities said.
The deceased victim’s identity will be released by the Nevada County Coroner’s Office pending notification of family.
