Thursday, September 27, 2012

Sonora PD press release re: vehicle vs pedestrian accident

25 September 2012, at approx. 3:56 pm, Sonora Police Department responded to the intersection of N. Washington Street and Columbia Way for a reported vehicle vs. pedestrian accident. A vehicle that was southbound on N. Washington Street stopped to allow Ashlee Chatfield, 19 of Sonora, to cross N. Washington Street, in a marked crosswalk, at the intersection of N. Washington Street and Columbia Way.


Meagan Flood, 22 of Sonora, was stopped at a stop sign, eastbound on School Street, in a raised Ford F-350 pick-up, waiting to make a left turn onto N. Washington Street, so she could travel northbound on N. Washington Street. When Flood observed the southbound vehicle stop, she felt they had stopped to allow her to make a left turn.
Flood looked to her right and saw no approaching northbound traffic, so she accelerated across the intersection, not noticing that Chatfield was crossing the street in the marked crosswalk on N. Washington Street. As Flood accelerated, her vehicle struck Chatfield in the crosswalk. The impact knocked Chatfield to the pavement and then Flood’s vehicle ran over the top of Chatfield.
Chatfield sustained major head and body trauma as a result of the accident. She was airlifted to a hospital in Modesto for treatment. At the time of this release we don’t have an updated condition of Chatfield. The investigation into this matter is continuing.