Jamestown, CA – The CHP has released new details about an early morning head-on collision along O’Byrnes Ferry Road in Jamestown.
The crash that happened around 5:45 a.m. on Thursday and caused traffic delays for morning commuters with one lane of the roadway blocked by wreckage, as earlier reported here. The CHP details that 35-year-old Jonathan Branaugh from Tracy was driving a 2001 Chevrolet Blazer northbound at approximately 50-55 mph, north of Shotgun Creek Road, and near the Sierra Conservation Center. He sped up to 65 mph to pass a big rig. The CHP says as he crossed into the oncoming traffic lane, he failed to see a Ford F-550 pickup being driven by 33-year-old Joshua Fernandes of Angels Camp. The two trucks smashed into each other with the Chevrolet overturning.
Branaugh was taken by Air Ambulance to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto with major injuries while Fernandes was taken via ground ambulance to Adventist Health, Sonora. The CHP disclosed that alcohol and/or drugs are not suspected to be a factor in this collision.
Written by Tracey Petersen.
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