Accidents near stretch of construction on Highway 25 serve as
safety reminder
HOLLISTER
Two bad crashes on roads that slalom from one lane to two near the new Highway 25 bypass have served as a safety reminder for motorists in the past month.
A 54-year-old Hollister woman was arrested Monday on suspicion of driving under the influence causing bodily injury, a felony, after a two-vehicle crash on San Felipe Road at the Highway 25 intersection, the Hollister Police Department reported. On Nov. 11, a 24-year-old man was flown by helicopter to a San Jose-area hospital after he drove off Meridian Street at the new Highway 25 bypass, officers reported.
Both crashes caused injuries – and highlight safety concerns while driving through a construction zone.
Several local drivers said Tuesday that the bypass areas can be tricky.
Josue De Avila, a 17-year-old San Benito High School student filling up a white 2002 Ford Mustang on Tuesday afternoon at the Arco gas station on San Felipe Road, admitted he has even accidentally drifted into the oncoming traffic lane near the bypass at night.
“It’s kind of weird because you have the oncoming traffic,” De Avila said. “It’s just confusing.”
Carlos Chavez, a 31-year-old who’s lived in Hollister for 11 years, was also gassing up at Arco Tuesday afternoon. Chavez said the lanes could use a touch of brighter paint to help visibility.
“The construction’s fine, but when it rains, you can’t even see the lines on the road,” Chavez said while holding the gas pump in his raised 1978 Ford pickup truck.
Chavez said out-of-town visitors unfamiliar with the lane shifts could be a higher risk.
Mary Dinkuhn, transportation planning manager for the San Benito County Council of Governments, said safety is the “No. 1 priority of the construction project at all times.”
“We need folks to mind the fact that the speed limit is set at 25 mph for a reason,” Dinkuhn said.
Capt. Bob Brooks said the two recent crashes are the only he has heard of near the Highway 25 bypass construction zones.
A 1990 Dodge pickup truck hit an embankment at 6 p.m. Nov. 11 on Meridian Street at the bypass intersection, police said. The driver, a 24-year-old Hollister man, suffered unspecified injuries to his legs, head and face, police said. Cones that mark the construction area at the intersection had been taken, and the man drove off the road, dropped four feet and landed 29 feet away, police said. The truck continued and slammed into a 4-foot embankment, police said.
On Monday, a woman was arrested after making a left turn onto Highway 25 in front of another vehicle, Brooks said. Officers believe alcohol played a role in the crash.
The driver of the other vehicle, a 22-year-old Hollister woman, was taken to Hazel Hawkins Memorial Hospital with complaints of pain, Brooks said.
