Vehicle, Passenger Van Crash In Copperopolis
Copperopolis, CA – A two-vehicle accident involving a van with 11 passengers collided Tuesday afternoon by Copper Cove.
The California Highway Patrol (CHP) San Andreas Unit reports that around 1:45 p.m., Donna Chapman, 56, of Copperopolis, was driving a 2011 Honda Accord north on OByrnes Ferry Road, approaching Copper Cove Drive. While she was preparing to make a left turn into the subdivision, Mauro Venegas, 47, of Stockton, came up from behind, driving a 1998 Ford Club Wagon at approximately 45 miles-per-hour.
According to the CHP report, although Venegas noted Chapman’s left-turn signal, he could not brake in time when he realized that her car had stopped directly in front of the van.
Attempting to avoid a collision, Venegas initially steered to the left but oncoming traffic on that side caused him to steer back to the right. The right front of the van subsequently crashed into the back of the Honda, causing Chapman and her passenger Helene Stouky, 82, of San Jose to sustain minor injuries that required treatment at Mark Twain Medical Center.
While, reportedly six people in total may have been transported to the medical center for minor injuries, there are no van passengers’ names listed in the accident report. Venegas, the van driver, was uninjured. Alcohol/drugs were determined not to have been a factor in the incident.
