The Hollister couple involved in Monday’s fatal accident on
Highway 129 was reported as being in
”
fair
”
condition as of late Wednesday, according to a hospital
spokeswoman. James Libby, 84, and his wife Marie Libby, 77, were in
the vehicle that struck the man Monday.
The Hollister couple involved in Monday’s fatal accident on Highway 129 was reported as being in “fair” condition as of late Wednesday, according to a hospital spokeswoman.
James Libby, 84, and his wife Marie Libby, 77, were in the vehicle that struck the man Monday.
A spokeswoman with Regional Medical Center of San Jose confirmed they had been upgraded to fair condition after initially being listed in critical condition.
From McClatchy-Tribune News:
A man died just after 5 p.m. Monday when his Honda sedan was broadsided by a Buick Roadmaster on Highway 129 just west of the Chittenden Pass trestle, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The elderly Hollister couple in the Buick were critically injured in the crash, which happened about 100 yards west of a cross and flowers marking the spot of another fatal accident on the rural highway.
CHP officer Sarah Jackson said the Monday accident is under investigation, but that the Buick’s driver, James Libby, 84, of Hollister, said he was traveling east when a silver Honda heading west crossed the double yellow line in front of him.
Libby was unable to stop and broadsided the passenger side of the Honda, Jackson said. The force of the collision ripped the Honda in half, sending the engine compartment and dashboard into an embankment next to the westbound lane while the back end crumpled between the Buick and the embankment on the opposite side of the highway. The Honda’s muffler skidded east another 20 feet.
Libby and his wife, Marie, 77, were flown to the San Jose hospital.
Authorities could not confirm the identity of the Honda driver late Tuesday.
The roads were damp and a light rain was falling as emergency crews worked. The highway was closed from Rogge Lane to Old Chittenden Road until 8:10 p.m., according to the CHP.
Highway 129, a busy two-lane road, has been the site of numerous serious crashes.
Last April a Hollister man was killed in almost the same spot as Monday’s fatal crash when he lost control of his pickup and was broadsided by a tractor-trailer.
