Two Die In Hwy 108 Monday Afternoon Accident

Sonora, CA — Two people died in that three vehicle accident that took place minutes before three o’clock Monday afternoon.

The 63 year old still unidentified woman from Sonora who caused the accident died at a Modesto hospital after being life flighted from the scene. 59 year old Ron Lancaster of Soulsbyville has been positively identified as the individual who died at the scene of the accident.

Lancaster was westbound between Draper Mine Rd. and Via Este when his 2001 Subaru Outback was hit headon by the Sonora woman driving a 1993 Ford Bronco. The C.H.P. had already received one call noting her erratic driving prior to the accident. The initial C.H.P. report indicates alcohol is not thought to be the cause of the accident. The woman was not wearing her seatbelt.

The accident took place at 2:58pm near Barnwood Court. The C.H.P. closed Hwy 108 between Sunshine Rd. and Standard with motorists being detoured to Tuolumne Rd. The highway was reopened at 4:45pm.

Lancaster and the woman’s death mark the fifth and sixth traffic related fatalities in Tuolumne County this year two more than in all of 2008.

Written by bill.johnson@mlode.com