HWY 49 Crash Leads To Drug Arrests

Angels Camp, CA — An early morning wreck on Highway 49 that had traffic backed up for several hours ended in a drug bust.

The crash happened around 7:30 this morning near Gun Club Road when a truck smashed into a telephone pole. 40-year-old Joseph Boehm of Gilroy was driving a 2011 Ford Ranger southbound on Highway 49 south of Gun Club Road at about 55 mph. The CHP says Boeham claims he fell asleep at the wheel and drifted off the right shoulder. The truck then smashed into an ATT telephone pole causing it to lean over the southbound lane. The truck rolled and ended up on its left side on the right shoulder of the highway. Boehm and his passenger, 39-year-old Katherine Sherman of Rialto, were both taken via ambulance to Mark Twain Medical Center with minor to moderate injuries.

San Andreas based CHP Officer Jaime Castillo says the arrest happened at Mark Twain Medical Center. “As a result of our collision investigation, narcotics were found and both of them were arrested on various narcotics charges. They drug charges were unrelated to the accident. They were not under the influence of drugs when the accident happened,” says Castillo.

Castillo would not say what type of drugs, how much or where the drugs were found.
Highway 49 was down to one-way traffic control for nearly four hours as a phone company crew worked to replace the pole. Both lanes of the highway were opened around noon.

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