3 SLO County residents transported to hospital after DUI crash on Highway 46
Three people were hospitalized and one was arrested under suspicion of drunk driving after a crash near the Cholame ‘Y’ on Sunday evening, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Fidel Martinez Lopez, 70, of San Miguel was driving eastbound on Highway 46 when he attempted to make a left turn onto northbound Highway 41 at the Cholame Y around 8:30 p.m. Sunday, a CHP news release said.
Lopez, who was intoxicated at the time, crashed into a 2008 Jeep Wrangler carrying two Morro Bay residents with his 1997 Ford F-150, the CHP said.
The driver of the Jeep, Jimmy Dickerson, 50, was traveling approximately 55 mph on westbound Highway 46, according to the release. The front of the two vehicles collided when Lopez attempted to turn left, the agency said.
Lopez’s truck came to a stop blocking Highway 46 lanes, while Dickerson’s Jeep spun to the right shoulder of Highway 46, coming to a rest facing east, the CHP said.
The two victims, Dickerson and Kimberly Valois, 57, were both transported to Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton for treatment of their injuries. Dickerson experienced moderate injuries and Valois’s injuries were mild, according to the CHP.
Lopez was taken to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo for major injuries, according to the CHP. It was determined he was under the influence of alcohol and was arrested, according to the release.
