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As a firefighter backs up one of the cars involved in a multi-vehicle crash, right, a man stuck in his car waits to be freed. The driver of another vehicle, left, watches the pileup at Lakeview and Orcutt roads Friday morning. //Len Wood/Staff
A four-vehicle accident left two people injured Friday at an Orcutt intersection where lack of visibility and congestion often contribute to collisions.
The intersection of Lakeview and Orcutt roads, which cross right next to Highway 135, was partly blocked because of the 8:26 a.m. accident, the California Highway Patrol said.
The incident began when a Honda Civic driven by Debbie Lindner, 49, of Santa Maria was stopped on Orcutt Road at Lakeview facing south, according to CHP Officer Jerrad McCaslin.
An Oldsmobile Alero and a Chevrolet Venture were traveling east, side-by-side, across Highway 135 on a green light, when Lindner proceeded south into their path, McCaslin said, adding that she reportedly did not see the two vehicles approaching from the west.
Her Civic struck the Oldsmobile, driven by Florentino Gallegos, 50, of Santa Maria, which was knocked into the path of the Venture, driven by Karle Whitford, 35, of Santa Maria, McCaslin said.
The Venture collided with the Oldsmobile, then hit a Chevrolet Tahoe that was stopped on Orcutt Road at the south side of Lakeview.
Neither Whitford nor the Tahoe driver, Alan Zuckerbraun, 48, of Santa Maria, was injured, McCaslin said.
Lindner and Gallegos complained of pain, McCaslin said, but it is unknown if they were taken to the hospital.
Traffic returned to normal after officers investigated the collision, but the incident is a reminder for motorists to pay attention while traveling through this intersection.
“We periodically get collisions there,” said Officer Gus Lopez of the Santa Maria CHP office.
Lopez said traffic volume at the intersection often increases between 7:30 and 8 a.m., and between 3 and 5 p.m. weekdays.
A combination of congestion and lack of visibility is often blamed for the collisions that happen there, Lopez said.
Motorists on Orcutt road must stop for traffic crossing east and west on Lakeview. But part of the confusion comes when large vehicles block the view of the traffic flowing in and out of the highway, Lopez said.
Drivers on Orcutt Road often fail to see vehicles turning east from southbound 135 and proceed across the intersection, he said..
“I think that throws people off,” he said.
Ultimately, it comes down to the driver, said CHP Officer Reggie Julius, adding that people need to pay attention.
Luis Ernesto Gomez can be reached at 739-2218, or
lgomez@santamariatimes.comJan. 27, 2007
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a concerned citizen wrote on Jan 27, 2007 7:41 AM: