April 2, 2022 – Santa Barbara County, Ca.
As if normal freeway traffic on U.S. 101 isn’t hazardous enough, one can only imagine the reaction of drivers heading southbound in the pre-dawn dark of March 27 th when they saw northbound headlights in the lanes coming straight at them.
That’s apparently what happened to 37-year-old Atascadero resident Duane Adent as he was driving his 2016 toyota 4-Runner southbound and was suddenly forced to swerve out of his lane to avoid a 2016 Dodge Challenger coming in the opposite direction. Behind the wheel of that Challenger was 24-year-old Santa Maria resident David Lopez.
According to CHP reports, In spite of his efforts to avoid contact with the Challenger, Adent’s Toyota “was unable to avoid a collision” and was forcibly impacted, causing it to spit out of control and “roll over several times.” The force of the impact sent debris “airborne” as it slammed into a passing Honda Civic driven by 51-year-old Templeton resident Chris Beard.
Adent “suffered moderate injuries” as a result of the crash and was transported to a local area medical center for treatment. Investigation at the scene indicated that Lopez was driving “with a blood-alcohol content of 0.10% or more.” He was promptly taken into custody and transported to San Luis Obispo County Jail, where he remains in custody with his bail set at $100,000.
Photo: Courtesy www.azdot.gov
