Saturday night in Humboldt County we had what could have been as bad - or worse - but thankfully it wasn't:
Accident sends sheriff's deputies to hospital
The Times-Standard
Sheriff's and Trinidad police vehicles damaged
TRINIDAD, CA -- It was an ugly scene late Saturday night that started with a call to investigate possible drunken driving and ended with a Trinidad Police car, a Sheriff's car and a civilian car damaged, several officers injured, and an Arcata woman arrested for possible drunken driving.
At about 11:50 p.m. Saturday, Trinidad Police officer Jana Deck was investigating a possible DUI when she encountered a vehicle that was partially in the roadway and a male and female in what appeared to be a fight along the roadside.
The officer called for assistance and was joined by several Humboldt County Sheriff's units.
While they were at the scene, 46-year-old Dharla Jo Curry approached in her 1996 Buick and struck the parked Trinidad police car, causing it to collide with the vehicle that had been parked in the roadway. Sheriff’s Sgt. Kevin Miller, along with Deputies Blake Massaro and Chance Landernauex were struck by the vehicle, along with the male and female who had been involved in the earlier incident.
The California Highway Patrol said that after the initial impact, the car driven by Curry continued out of control and struck a Sheriff's car that had been parked on the shoulder.
Curry was arrested for felony driving under the influence, causing bodily harm and booked into the Humboldt County jail. The driver of the 2004 Chevy Cavalier, Tasha Henderson, was also arrested for driving under the influence.
Trinidad Police Chief Kenneth Thrailkill, who also responded to the incident, said Sunday that the particular stretch of highway where the incident occurred does not have an adequate shoulder to pull off the road and is notorious for vehicle collisions.
“It amazes me how no one was killed,” Thrailkill said.
Although he said the investigation into the incident was ongoing and he was waiting on a CHP report, Thrailkill said Deck, who graduated from College of the Redwoods’ Police Academy in January, appeared to have followed the department’s protocols.