Driver killed in Highway 46 crash wasn’t found until following day, CHP says
Update 5:15 p.m. Monday:
When the CHP first arrived to the scene of Saturday’s single-vehicle collision, officers found a severely injured man but were unaware that he was not the only one in the vehicle.
It was not until the next day that the Tulare woman who died from the accident was found, according to the CHP.
The CHP and Cal Fire were dispatched to the scene at around 7:20 p.m. Saturday. When they arrived, they found a black Volvo 850 sedan located on its wheels about 100 feet over an embankment covered in heavy brush, according to a news release.
Officers located a 26-year-old man identified as Najee Abdul Mims.
He was transported to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo for his injuries, the CHP said. Due to his state of consciouness, officers were unable to interview him on the scene and at the hospital, the agency said.
According to the release, the CHP conducted a search of the area and did not find the driver, Brittany Higeura Muldrow.
San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s County deputies used a hand-held, forward-looking Infrared camera from Cal Fire to try to find possible heat sources emitted from any other occupants, but no additional heat sources were picked up, according to the release.
According to the CHP, the car did not have any physical evidence to suggest there was more than one person in the car at the time of the crash.
Late Sunday afternoon, however, investigators learned another person had been in the vehicle, the CHP said.
At about 5:09 p.m. Sunday, officers returned to the scene and found Muldrow after about six minutes of searching, the agency said.
She was located lying in a rocky culvert ditch under vegetation, according to the release.
Muldrow, who was dead when her body was found, had sustained severe head trauma, according to the release.
The CHP said it did not find Muldrow in the initial search due to uneven terrain, thick brush, tall grass, limited lighting conditions and the rocky ditch.
Original story:
A single-vehicle collision near Paso Robles left one woman dead and one man severely injured on Saturday, the CHP said.
At around 7:20 p.m. Saturday, Brittany Higeura Muldrow, 25, of Tulare was driving a black 1997 Volvo 850 sedan westbound on Highway 46 west of Gruenhagen Flats Road at high speeds, according to a CHP news release.
Najee Abdul Mims, a 26-year-old man from Hanford, was the sole passenger, the release said.
Muldrow lost control of the vehicle for unknown reasons, the CHP said.
The car traveled into the median before going across the westbound lanes and off the north edge of the road, according to the release.
According to the release, the sedan rolled multiple times down a dirt and grass slope. Muldrow and Mims, who were not wearing seat belts, were both ejected from the car, the CHP said.
Muldrow died from her injuries, according to the release.
The CHP said Mims sustained major head trauma and internal injuries.
The CHP is actively investigating the incident.
This story was originally published April 27, 2020 at 10:30 AM.
