4 killed in Tuolumne County crash; driver going 100 mph crossed double-yellow lines, CHP says
TUOLUMNE COUNTY – A high-speed head-on crash that killed four people in Tuolumne County was caused by a driver illegally trying to pass another vehicle, authorities say.
California Highway Patrol says, around 5 p.m. on May 31, a pickup truck with three people inside – 56-year-old driver Michael Keith, 66-year-old Donna Yarnal, and 65-year-old Cindi Schuchterman – was heading northbound on Bonds Flat Road at around 100 mph.
Investigators believe the pickup truck driver crossed over double-yellow lines near the intersection of La Grange Road while trying to pass another vehicle. An SUV was heading southbound on Bonds Flat Road from La Grange Road at the same time.
The high speed meant that neither vehicle could avoid the other, or break, in time; the impact of the crash embedded each of the vehicles into each other, officers say.
All four people – the three people in the pickup and the driver of the SUV, 33-year-old Janelle Hall – were killed in the crash.
CHP is still investigating the crash, including whether drugs or alcohol was a factor.
