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Christmas Eve
Around 9 a.m., a man was killed and another person seriously injured in a head-on crash Thursday morning on Highway 121 near Wagner Road, near Schellville. The driver of a southbound 2009 Mazda was attempting to pass another car in an area with double yellow lines, the CHP said in a crash report. That driver’s car collided with a Ford pickup being driven by Steven Bishop, a 52-year-old Santa Rosa resident who was headed north. The as yet unidentified driver of the Mazda was killed. Man dead after head-on collision on Highway 121 (pressdemocrat.com)
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A little before 1 p.m., on Roseville Road just south of Oakhollow Drive, North Highlands, a sedan was heading northbound on Roseville Road when, for an unknown reason, it went across into the southbound lanes and crashed head-on into a pickup truck. CHP officers say one of the passengers died at the scene. Another passenger sustained major injuries. The driver of the sedan also suffered major injuries, while the pickup truck driver suffered minor injuries. 1 Killed In Christmas Eve Head-On Crash Along Roseville Road In North Highlands – CBS Sacramento (cbslocal.com)
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About 8:10 p.m., on eastbound SR-94 between the exits to Federal Boulevard and Broadway and College Avenue, Lemon Grove, at least one person died Thursday night after apparently being thrown from a vehicle when at least two vehicles crashed, including one that may have overturned. The CHP incident log indicates that the victim was ejected over a distance of 300 feet. At least one dead in crash off SR-94 in Lemon Grove – The San Diego Union-Tribune
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Christmas Day
Around 6 a.m., two people died after being ejected from their SUV during a rollover crash on Business 80, just north of Fulton Avenue, in Sacramento. The passenger of the vehicle was identified as 29-year-old Abigail Prado, of Rio Linda. The driver, a man, has not yet been identified. 2 Killed After Ejection From SUV In Rollover Crash In Sacramento, CHP Says – CBS Sacramento (cbslocal.com)
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About 6:50 a.m., a crash occurred on the eastbound Moreno Valley Freeway at Moreno Beach Drive, the California Highway Patrol reported, adding that the vehicle in question was “wrapped around a telephone pole.” The motorist was later identified as Bryan Hill, 47, of Los Angeles. No other information was released. Motorist Killed in Christmas Day Crash in Moreno Valley ID’d – MyNewsLA.com
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About 1:30 p.m., a well-known photographer who documented Southern California car culture was killed after two cars collided at an illegal street racing event near East 230th and Banning Streets in Carson.
Daniel “Dano” Patten, 66, who lived in Huntington Beach, was fatally struck while filming drag races.
Footage shot in Carson and posted to social media that day shows a black Cadillac sedan racing a blue car, which slam into each other and then barrel into a crowd of people. The legs of an apparently injured spectator lying on the ground can be seen a short distance from two wrecked vehicles in another video recorded near the crash site.
Patten died at the scene. Five other people were hospitalized, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy Morgan Arteaga said. The drivers who took part in the street race fled the scene, she said.
Illegal Street Racing Event in Carson on Christmas Day Leaves One Dead and Several Injured – NBC Los Angeles — and — Photographer at illegal street racing event in Carson struck and killed on Christmas Day – Daily Breeze
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Officers were called at 4:27 p.m. to Bermuda and East Robindale roads in south Las Vegas after the motorcycle crashed into the back of two vehicles, according to Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Lt. Bret Ficklin. Investigators believe the Harley Davidson rider tried to pass a van and clipped the van and a sedan in the other lane before the rider was thrown from the bike, Ficklin said at the scene. The rider, a 36-year-old Las Vegas man, was pronounced dead at the scene. The van and Chrysler drivers stayed on scene and were cooperative with the investigation but officers suspect the motorcycle rider was speeding, Ficklin said. Speed suspected in fatal Christmas afternoon crash | Las Vegas Review-Journal