Junction City, CA : Redding woman dies after car plunges into Trinity River on Saturday, December 27, 2014

A 75-year-old Redding woman died Saturday after she lost control of her car on Highway 299 and the vehicle plunged into the Trinity River.

Initial reports said the car had two people inside, but the woman was the lone occupant, the California Highway Patrol said.

The woman was driving a gold 2012 Toyota Corolla west on Highway 299 around 55 to 60 mph at about 2 p.m., the CHP said.

She drifted onto the right shoulder just west of the Junction City Store then swerved left across the highway. She went down a steep downhill embankment and the car landed upside-down in the river, submerged under 10 to 15 feet of water, the CHP said.

Emergency crews, including the CHP and the Trinity County Sheriff’s Office and its search and rescue team, attempted the cliff-side river rescue to free the trapped woman. A tow truck was requested with a 100-foot cable shortly after 2 p.m. to assist.

A fisherman who was in the area with a boat at the time of the crash also tried to help, the CHP website said.

Rescuers got the woman out of the car and she was taken by ambulance to Trinity Hospital in Weaverville where she died due to her injuries, the CHP said.

The eastbound lane of Highway 299 was closed to traffic during the rescue attempt with drivers routed onto the westbound lanes with a pilot car, but both highway lanes reopened at 5:32 p.m.

Alcohol or drugs did not appear to be a factor in the crash, the CHP said.

Source :
Solo driver crashes into Northern California river, dies from injuries