Woman, 36, Suspected Of DUI After 4-Vehicle Crash Leaves Person Dead Near Oakdale
STANISLAUS COUNTY (CBS13) — A woman is under arrest on suspicion of DUI after she allegedly caused a four-vehicle crash near Oakdale that left one person dead.
California Highway Patrol says officers responded to Highway 108, east of Lancaster Road, a little after 5 a.m. Tuesday and found that an SUV, sedan, utility truck and tractor-trailer had been involved in a crash.
Investigators believe a woman, 36-year-old Ceres resident Erika Linja, crossed over a set of double-yellow lines to try and pass the tractor-trailer. However, she sideswiped the sedan coming in the opposite direction.
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Linja then lost control of her SUV and was struck by the utility truck - ejecting a passenger, who CHP says wasn't wearing a seatbelt, out of her vehicle.
The SUV was then struck again, this time by the tractor-trailer Linja originally tried to pass.
Linja was first taken to a nearby hospital to be treated for major injuries. She has since been placed under arrest for DUI and vehicular manslaughter charges.
The driver of the utility truck also suffered minor injuries and had to be transported. Neither the driver of the sedan nor the tractor-trailer driver reported any injuries, CHP says.
No information about the passenger who died has been released at this point.