Driver trying to pass semi caused head-on collision near Cholame ‘Y,’ CHP says

Two people were seriously injured in a head-on collision east of the Cholame “Y” intersection on Wednesday morning, according to a news release from the CHP.

Just before 7:30 a.m., 29-year-old Joey McGraw Jr. of San Bernardino was driving west on Highway 46 west of Antelope Road and attempted to pass a tractor-trailer truck, the CHP said.

McGraw realized he couldn’t pass the semi truck without colliding head-on into a vehicle coming from the other direction, according to the release.

McGraw got back into his lane but “due to his unsafe speed, he was unable to maintain control of his vehicle and swerved out of control into the eastbound lane,” the CHP said.

McGraw’s vehicle then collided head-on into a car driven by 67-year-old Michael Klassen of Pebble Beach, the agency said.

Following the impact, Klassen’s Toyota Sienna went over the south side of the highway and McGraw’s Acura came to rest blocking the eastbound lane of traffic, the CHP said. The semi truck was not involved in the crash.

Both drivers “sustained possible fractures,” the CHP said, and were taken to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo.

Drugs and alcohol were not contributing factors in the collision, the CHP said. As the crash happened a mile east of the Cholame “Y,” the CHP added the crash had nothing to do with the interchange.

This story was originally published August 28, 2019 at 7:58 AM.