Driver involved in fatal highway crash succumbs to injuries

VACAVILLE, Calif. -- A woman who was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries after a highway vehicle crash that killed one early Sunday morning in Vacaville has died, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Around 5:30 a.m., CHP officers responded to a report of a crash on eastbound Interstate Highway 80, west of Lagoon Valley Road, CHP officials said.

Officers determined that a woman, who is suspected of being intoxicated, was driving a Honda Accord and traveling in the highway's eastbound lanes.

Ahead of her was a Jeep SUV that had stopped in the right-hand shoulder and was partially blocking a lane. The driver of the Jeep was outside of the car and had pulled over just a few minutes before because she was feeling sick, according to CHP officials.

The Honda Accord then drifted into the right-hand shoulder and struck the SUV. The force of the impact caused the SUV to spin and strike the SUV's driver, who was outside the vehicle.

A 53-year-old woman from Hailey, Idaho, who was inside the SUV, was pronounced dead at the scene, CHP officials said.

The driver of the SUV and two other passengers who were inside the SUV suffered minor to moderate injuries and were taken to NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield, according to the CHP.

The 28-year-old driver of the Honda Accord, a Vacaville resident, became trapped inside her car. Emergency crews took about 20 minutes to extricate her, CHP officials said.

She was then taken to Kaiser Permanente Vacaville Medical Center in Vacaville with life-threatening injuries, where she died a short time later, according to the CHP.

CHP officials are investigating the incident and suspect drugs or alcohol as a factor in the crash.