The California Highway Patrol received several calls Sunday evening about a head on multiple vehicle collision on Highway 49.
click to listen to CHP Officer Tassone
CHP Officer Greg Tassone says many of the callers were unfamiliar with the area which lead to the confusion. They finally were able to pinpoint the location
click to listen to CHP Officer Tassone
The accident involved three vehicles, and year old Rose Apodaca of Auburn was behind the wheel of a 2007 Toyota Corolla heading northbound .
click to listen to CHP Officer Tassone
The Toyota Corolla continued on into the northbound lane and struck a Lexus SUV head on.
Of the four occupants of the Lexus, two reported injuries, a 67 year old woman from Auburn was transported to Sutter Roseville Medical Center with minor to moderate injuries and a 30 year old female from woodland Hills was transported to Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital with minor injuries. Of the six occupants in the Buick, two reported minor injuries but refused ambulance transport to the hospital.
Apodaca was evaluated and determined to be under the influence of a controlled substance, causing the collision. She was arrested on a felony charge of DUI for causing injuries in the collision and was later released to the medcal center for treatment. Apodaca suffered moderate to major injuries but is expected to survive. State Route 49 was closed for approximately 90 minutes.
The Nevada County Sheriff’s Department assisted CHP and Caltrans personnel with traffic control and a detour using Lime Kiln Rd and Wolf Rd to divert vehicles around the closure.
Stevie
Such a sad thing to happen. Rose is a good person who means well, we all mess up sometimes. I'm hoping to find information on how to get ahold of her, write her, visit her, etc. She is the friend who will put money on books, send care packages, start helping others who need it, I know she would take this back if she could. What she's facing is not completely fair and its terrifying to face alone. She's always been the literal only person to pick up suicidal friends, give rides, lecture about being there for people who have been broken or hurt. Well now it's her turn for help. She deserves it, I always though she spent too much energy on others who don't care enough, but now maybe others will try to help Rose who goes out of her way to help homeless, jailed, and convince runaways to return home. She's a great person, one of the few who would trade their own comfort for others lives and happiness and has many times. I always tell her to give it up, no one will help u if you need it. Well hopefully human kindness prevails. She may have ruined a few families weeks & cars, but imagine whats going to change in her life the next few years. She didn't hurt anyone majorly, it seems from the article, just herself it says shes still in a medical condition at the hospital. Hopefully she's not hurt too bad, she doesn't deserve any more psyical pain then she's had in the last two years or so. Bless her heart, her recent ailing health, supposedly tumors in her ovaries. Endometriosis, depression, bipolor, and daily pain that started her substance use. All and all, everyone messes up, she doesn't deserve all the backlash from her Auburn "friends" who think they know her or what she's going thru. It's no excuse but Rose almost always has no support emotionally and no stable family to back her up like the rest of the world does sometimes.
Destiny
Stevie, you can get a hold of her on Facebook.
Grant Paige
The car she hit belonged to my parents, and my mom is far from "ok." Unless you call injuries that were a hair's breadth from her being paralyzed "not that bad."
I know Rose has had some major difficulties in life, and I don't pretend I know everything she's gone through; but when a person's actions lead to a situation that could have killed someone in my family (as well as Rose herself), I am not as quick to justify those actions.
You're right...everyone messes up, and nobody is immune to lapses in judgement; but when Rose's decisions led to another person's life-and-death situation, it's hard to look at it as a positive learning experience.
That being said, my family and I have been praying for her complete recovery, and hopefully she knows that we hold no ill-feelings towards her. In fact, my parents wanted to find her room in the hospital to see how she was doing and wish her a speedy recovery.
I agree that people shouldn't judge based on what they don't know, and that the backlash you referred to is probably from people who don't know Rose's full story. But the accident she caused shouldn't be overlooked or made to be less serious sounding just because the person who caused it has had some struggles.
I sincerely hope she is doing better. And I sincerely hope she is able to make some life changes so nothing like this happens again.
Aaron
Just so this is clear, even though it has been years later, she was found to be innocent of the DUI charges. No substances were present and it was a stupid call by police that had zero proof to back it up. This isn’t an opinion. It’s a fact. This accident and horrible hateful accusations along with the loss of her best friend to suicide broke her. She took her own life because of this. In the long run I’d say she was the biggest victim in this entire situation. I miss her and so does the rest of the world whether they know it or not.