Lake County Fire Protection District quickly responded to the incident and initiated treatment upon their arrival. I was transported to St. Helena Hospital Clearlake by Lake County Fire Protection District medics.
Due to bad weather conditions in Sacramento and Santa Rosa I was unable to be airlifted to trauma centers in those cities. Instead I was airlifted to Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport which is a lower level trauma center then the ones located in Sacramento or Santa Rosa.
The cost of the flight from Clearlake to Lakeport was $24,000. Injuries sustained included back, chest and neck pain as well as difficulty breathing. It is unknown at this time if there will be any long-term effects from the injuries sustained.
Like many other Americans I have no medical insurance and may have to pay all the medical expenses myself unless the other driver's insurance pays. I am also now without a vehicle to go to and from work, doctors appointments, or to get my kids to and from school.
Highway 53 at Olympic Drive is a dangerous intersection for anyone who has to travel it. There is great risk for anyone who has to enter or exit the highway to turn onto or from Olympic Drive due to the cross traffic on the highway traveling at 55 miles per hour with no traffic control devices such as stoplights to allow traffic to safely enter or exit the highway.
Being such a hazardous intersection and having been fortunate to have survived a serious accident in that intersection I fully intend to seek improvements at this location before someone else in unfortunate enough to be seriously injured or even killed.
I intend to meet with Caltrans, the county Board of Supervisors, and the city of Clearlake to seek improvements and encourage any other accident victims or family members of victims that have lost their lives to join me in bringing about these improvements.
Tobie Edmonds lives in Lucerne.
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