A two-vehicle accident Tuesday evening on State Route 152 caused
one car to go off an embankment and another to sustain serious
damage, resulting in moderate injuries to a Los Banos woman,
according to California Highway Patrol and witness reports.
A two-vehicle accident Tuesday evening on State Route 152 caused one car to go off an embankment and another to sustain serious damage, resulting in moderate injuries to a Los Banos woman, according to California Highway Patrol and witness reports.
The accident occurred at about 5:25 p.m. just east of Soap Lake, according to the CHP.
Helen Vasquez, 49, of Los Banos, was transported to San Jose Regional Medical Center with a shattered knee cap, a broken leg and a broken heel and toes, according to her coworker Ellen Casa and CHP reports. Vasquez’s blue Ford Escape suffered major damage to its front end, CHP Officer Jaime Rios said.
Vasquez said she had been traveling from her job in Milpitas toward Los Banos when another vehicle traveling in the opposite direction lost control and hit her car head on, Casa said.
She said she visited Vasquez at the hospital Wednesday morning and found her to be “pretty banged up” but recovering.
Roberto Mendoza, 26, of San Martin, was driving the other vehicle in the crash, a red 1990 Infiniti M30, which ended up going over the embankment, Rios said. Mendoza did not sustain any injuries, he said.
The CHP is still investigating who was at fault, Rios said. Alcohol did not play a role in the crash, he added.
Officers diverted traffic in the eastbound lane to Bloomfield Road, according to CHP dispatch reports.
Another accident happened in the same general area about an hour later, but that crash did not result in injuries, Rios said.
Vasquez continues to recover at San Jose Regional Medical Center, Casa said Wednesday.
“She’s going to be there awhile,” Casa said.
