By Ray Estrada
Emergency crews extricated an Argonaut High School student from the wreckage of this 2006 Toyota Corolla S sport coupe after it collided with an oak tree on Jackson Valley Road on Monday. Driver Kristina Lesher was reported in critical condition at UC Davis Medical Center.
Photo by: Bill Lavallie
An 18-year-old Camanche woman remained in critical condition this week after she was seriously injured when her car collided with a tree near Ione Monday night, officials said.
It took 15 firefighters about 30 minutes to extricate Kristina Lesher from her mangled 2006 Toyota Corolla after it struck a tree shortly before 6 p.m. on Jackson Valley Road east of Martin Lane, said Ione Fire Chief Ken Mackey.
“She was trapped between her dashboard and the tree,” Mackey said. “We had to use ladder, high lift jacks and the Jaws of Life (extrication device). It was a great show of teamwork.”
Lesher was rushed by California Highway Patrol helicopter to UC Davis Medical Center where she was placed in the intensive care unit.
She remained there Thursday where a nursing supervisor said she was in “very critical condition.”
California Highway Patrol Officer Craig Harmon said the exact cause of the crash still was being investigated this week. “All we know now is that the car left the roadway and struck a tree,” Harmon said.
Lesher was academically one of the top 10 students in her class since her first semester as a freshman at Argonaut High, said her school counselor Janice Davis. “We´re hoping and praying for the best,” Davis said. “She was working toward independence and was planning on attending Sacramento State after graduation.”
The counselor said Lesher wanted to major in counseling to become a therapist. “She was very focused,” Davis said. Lesher has some of the best grades and is taking some of the hardest classes in school, the counselor said.
Reprinted with permission from : Amador Ledger Dispatch
This post was last modified on 01/31/2009 1:52 pm