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CHP: Wrong-Way Driver In Stolen Truck Causes Deadly Crash In Olivehurst

OLIVEHURST (CBS13) — A wrong-way driver in a stolen truck is in custody at a hospital after a head-on crash killed two people in Olivehurst, the California Highway Patrol announced on Thursday.

Chase P. Hammonds, 25, of Los Molinos in Tehama County, suffered a fractured leg in the crash and was awaiting medical clearance before being booked into jail.

The CHP said the crash happened Wednesday afternoon along Highway 70. Deputies were pursuing the stolen truck as Hammonds was initially driving in the wrong lanes along Highway 65 approaching Highway 70.

Chase Hammonds faces charges of auto theft, felony evading, crossing a divided highway, felony hit and run, and two counts of murder. (credit: Yuba County Sheriff's Office)

Hammonds eventually was driving northbound in the southbound lanes of Highway 70 when he collided head-on with a Dodge Durango. The occupants of the Durango—Marysville residents Deanna Hernandez, 36, and Cary T. Ojeda, 55—both died at the hospital. They were mother and daughter.

During the collision, a trailer that was being pulled by the stolen truck struck a third vehicle, though the driver of that vehicle was uninjured.

After the crash, Hammonds attempted to get away on foot but was arrested a short while later, the CHP said.

Hammonds faces charges of auto theft, felony evading, crossing a divided highway, felony hit and run, and two counts of murder.

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