A 4-year-old girl was flown to the hospital via helicopter after
suffering a head injury in a single-vehicle rollover accident
involving a Gilroy family on U.S. 101 this morning, police
said.
A 4-year-old girl was flown to the hospital via helicopter after suffering a head injury in a single-vehicle rollover accident involving a Gilroy family on U.S. 101 this morning, police said.
Two adult occupants of the 1995 Ford Explorer were taken to the hospital by ambulance after the vehicle left the east side of U.S. 101 near the Middle Avenue overpass while traveling northbound. The accident happened about 11:47 a.m. Thursday.
Six people occupied the vehicle, and all are Gilroy residents, California Highway Patrol officer Jaime Rios said. Two, including the 4-year-old who was flown away from the scene by helicopter, were children.
After rolling over, the vehicle came to rest upside down in a flood channel running parallel to the freeway, about 75 feet from the edge of the road, Rios said. The vehicle careened through a barbed wire fence between the roadway and the channel.
The driver of the vehicle told police she heard a “pop” sound from one of the tires, and then she lost control of the Explorer, Rios said. Shredded tire fragments littered the side of the freeway where the car left the road.
A patch of burning grass resulting from the accident was extinguished by firefighters who arrived on the scene with CHP, paramedics and other emergency personnel.
A Calstar helicopter landed in the northbound lane of U.S. 101 at the scene of the accident, briefly shutting down that side of the freeway. The helicopter carried the 4-year-old passenger to an area hospital with “major injuries” to the head, Rios said. The child was ejected from the vehicle.
At least one of the adults who was taken to hospital by ambulance suffered major injuries as well, Rios said. Other occupants suffered minor to moderate injuries, though police did not yet know the extent of the injuries.
Initial reports indicated five people suffered injuries of various severity.
Police have not released the names and ages of the other occupants.
More details on this accident will follow this afternoon.
