Sonora, CA — Four people are dead after a collision on highway 108-120 that caused a two-acre grass fire west of O´Byrnes Ferry Road and closed the highway for several hours last night.
Officer Brad Schultz of CHP says three vehicles were involved. He says the unidentified driver of a 1988 Chevy Pickup was traveling east bound near a blind curve to the left of the double yellow lines.
He says a 2005 Buick driven by 29-year-old Arjun Chandran was traveling west bound followed by a Ford Van driven by 47-year-old Sandy Sundram of Illinois. Schultz says the Buick collided with the Chevy head-on as the driver of the Ford van attempted evasive action.
He says as the Buick impacted the Chevy, it was thrown back into the Ford. Schultz says no one in the Ford was injured.
54-year-old Rani Chandran of Illinois died on the way to the hospital while Arjun Chandran and 75-year-old Vallabi Ponnambalum who was a passenger in the Buick, and the driver of the pickup were pronounced dead on the scene.
Police are investigating whether alcohol was a factor in the crash. Four CDF units and a Tuolumne County Fire crew responded to the blaze.
This post was last modified on 01/31/2009 2:23 pm