Alcohol has been linked to a Sunday crash near the Sutter Buttes that has left two boys hospitalized and the driver facing possible felony charges.
Juan Carlos Torres-Garcia, 25, of the 200 block of Del Monte Avenue, Yuba City, was driving a Chevrolet pickup that overturned on Pass Road, west of Kellogg Road. He and his 11-year-old brother, whose name was not immediately available, were taken to Rideout Memorial Hospital in Marysville and discharged Sunday night, a spokeswoman said.
The third passenger, a 6-year-old boy and friend of the 11-year-old, was flown by helicopter to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento with a head injury, according to California Highway Patrol officers.
Torres-Garcia was headed east on Pass Road when he entered a sharp, downhill left curve about 25 mph over the posted 30 mph limit, said Officer J.D. Moser. After the pickup veered onto the gravel-coated south shoulder, the driver apparently overcorrected left and the pickup skidded some 300 feet.
The vehicle landed on its roof, its left side crushed. No one was thrown from the pickup, but at least one of the two boys was not wearing his seat belt, Officer William Beck said.
CHP officers planned to arrest Torres-Garcia at the hospital on suspicion of causing injury by driving under the influence and one count of child endangerment, both felonies.
Among the debris found near the pickup were two 12-packs of Bud Light beer — including one filled with empty cans, according to the CHP.
The condition of the 6-year-old boy at UC Davis Medical Center was not immediately known.
CONTACT Reporter Howard Yune at 749-4708 and discuss this story at SutterLife.com.
