4 hospitalized after crash during pursuit in Rancho Murieta area of Sacramento County
RANCHO MURIETA — Four people were hospitalized, with two being in critical condition, after a crash that happened during a chase in the Rancho Murieta area of Sacramento County, officials said Monday night.
The California Highway Patrol said, just before 8 p.m., an officer tried to pull over a red Hyundai Elantra for speeding just east of Rancho Murieta in Amador County, but the Hyundai didn't stop. The driver was traveling north on Highway 49 before transitioning onto Jackson Road, or Highway 16, and heading toward Rancho Murieta.
The crash occurred at the intersection of Jackson Road and Murieta Drive and caused the Hyundai to catch fire. The man driving the Hyundai and a female passenger both were hospitalized with critical injuries. The occupants of the other vehicle suffered minor injuries.
Photos of the scene released by the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District show vehicle damage resembling a broadside collision, or T-bone crash.
The Hyundai sustained heavy front-end damage and subsequently caught fire, officials said, while the other vehicle sustained heavy damage to the driver's side of the vehicle.
Initially, two air ambulances were called to the scene but were canceled. All four patients were taken by ground to area hospitals, the fire district said.