A California woman narrowly survived a brutal early-morning wreck after drifting off behind the wheel and sending her Jeep Wrangler off the road, where it slammed into not one, but two trees in rapid succession.
The California Highway Patrol says the crash happened at about 6:20 a.m. Thursday, just east of Woodham Carne Road on Tuolumne Road near Sonora.
Investigators identified the driver as 66-year-old Carol Schutt of Groveland, who was headed east in a yellow 2021 Jeep Wrangler when fatigue took over.
Authorities say Schutt fell asleep while driving, causing her SUV to veer off the roadway.
The vehicle first smashed into a tree, then kept moving and struck a second tree before finally coming to rest off the road.
Emergency responders arrived around 6:25 a.m. and found the Jeep about 50 feet from the roadway.
An ambulance was called, and Schutt was transported to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto with minor injuries.
CHP confirmed that drugs and alcohol were not factors in the crash.
CHP spokesperson Officer Steve Machado issued a stark warning about drowsy driving, saying, “Driving while sleepy is dangerous.
Fatigue slows reaction time and can cause ‘microsleeps.’
Microsleeps are very brief and uncontrollable episodes of sleep that can last for fractions of a second to a few seconds.
During this time, you’re not in control of the vehicle.
Fortunately, this driver only sustained minor injuries.