WATSONVILLE — A woman was seriously injured Wednesday in a two-vehicle crash on Main Street at South Green Valley Road.
Watsonville Police Sgt. Donny Thul said woman was traveling southbound on South Green Valley Road just before 11 a.m. while approaching Main Street. For unknown reasons, she lost control of her white Acura SUV, shot over a concrete median strip, ripped apart a “Do Not Enter/Wrong Way” sign and slammed into the driver’s side of a large Home Depot flatbed truck with a male driver that was stopped at a traffic light after exiting Highway 1. The impact ripped open a large fuel tank and blew several of its tires off their rims. It also crushed the entire front end of the SUV.
Firefighters needed about 20 minutes to safely extricate the victim. She was rushed to Watsonville Municipal Airport where a base for CALSTAR rescue helicopter is stationed. She was flown to an out-of-county trauma center.
The ruptured fuel tank spilled about a hundred gallons of fuel across Main Street. Since many motorists drove through the fuel, they tracked it further south on South Green Valley Road, adding to the mess.
Thul said because of clean up and towing duties, the heavily travelled intersection would be shut down for three to four hours.
Traffic flow coming off Highway 1 onto Main Street was diverted through the Pajaro Plaza shopping center, creating a logjam inside the center.
The flatbed was towing a small forklift that was not damaged.
The roadway reopened at 3 p.m.
The incident is still under investigation.
