A 13-year-old Esparto boy taking a driving lesson from his father and a 37-year-old Woodland woman crossing the street lost their lives late last week in separate accidents involving vehicles.
The teenage boy died at the scene of the Friday night accident, which occurred at about 8:40 p.m. on County Road 89 north of County Road 26 and also caused major injuries to the boy’s father.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the boy was at the wheel of a Chevy and receiving driving instructions from his father, who was in the passenger seat, when for unknown reasons the vehicle drifted to the right onto the gravel shoulder. The boy reacted by steering sharply to the left.
Despite the father’s attempts to correct the vehicle’s path, the Chevy continued out of control off the west side of the roadway, striking a 10-foot drainage ditch and overturning onto its roof, according to CHP reports.
Despite deployed air bags and the use of seat belts, the boy suffered fatal injuries in the crash. Yolo County coroner’s officials had not released his name as of Saturday evening.
His father was transported to Kaiser Vacaville for medical treatment. Investigators say alcohol was not a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation.
The night before, a Woodland woman died after being struck by a vehicle near the Yolo County Fairgrounds in Woodland, police and coroner’s officials reported.
Nancy Gabriela Molina-Villanueva succumbed to blunt force injuries suffered in the 8:45 p.m. collision, Yolo County Chief Deputy Coroner Gina Moya said.
Woodland police Sgt. Brett Hancock said Molina-Villanueva was crossing East Gum Avenue at Thomas Street when she was hit by a 1998 Lincoln sport-utility vehicle driven by a 23-year-old Woodland man, whose name was not released.
She was transported to Woodland Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
Hancock said the investigation is continuing, but so far it appears that neither alcohol/drugs nor excessive speed were factors in the collision.
There is a crosswalk at the intersection where the incident occurred, but it was not immediately clear whether Molina-Villanueva was using it when she was struck, Hancock said.