Woman, 46, Killed in Multi-Vehicle Collision
– William Dougherty, 49, Arrested for DUI
LASSSEN COUNTY, Calif. (Jan. 17, 2025) — A 46-year-old Susanville woman died in a crash Tuesday on Highway 36, just west of US Highway 395 involving a suspected drugged driver.
Several others were injured in the multi-vehicle collision around 7:47 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 14th, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Also, police arrested William R. Dougherty, 49, of Sacramento, on several charges including driving under the influence of drugs.
The California Highway Patrol Susanville Area office sent deputies to the crash scene where they located five motorists involved in the collision.
Dougherty was reportedly driving a 1998 Ford Club Wagon Van eastbound on Highway 36 when he allegedly set off a chain-reaction collision.
His vehicle was reportedly speeding when he came upon stopped vehicles and slower-moving traffic at a green light. The driver crashed into the back of the Susanville woman’s 2019 Chevrolet Equinox and pushed it forward into a 2024 Freightliner tractor-trailer truck.
The Ford van swerved to the right and then the left and hit the back of a 2016 Jeep Wrangler, causing that vehicle to collide with a 2017 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck.
Paramedics responded and the 46-year-old Susanville woman from the Equinox was pronounced dead at the scene. A 10-year-old girl riding in her vehicle suffered major injuries and was airlifted to Renown Medical Center in Reno, Nevada.
Also, the drivers of the pickup truck and Jeep both had minor injuries and were treated on the scene.
Finally, Dougherty was treated for minor injuries at Benner Lassen Medical Center and then arrested on multiple charges including a Watson DUI murder, gross vehicular manslaughter while DUI, DUI causing death, driving while addicted to a drug, and a seatbelt violation.
He was booked into Lassen County Jail
The case remains under investigation by the Susanville Area CHP.
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Source: CHP
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