By Larry Judkins
Glenn County Observer
An Orland woman died Monday morning following a vehicle crash at County Roads M and 24.
The accident occurred at about 8 a.m. on June 24. The location was initially reported as Roads M and 21, but this was soon updated to M and 24.
Scanner broadcasts indicated that three vehicles were involved; however, both the CHP Traffic website and the Willows CHP’s media release say that only two vehicles were involved.
According to the California Highway Patrol, one of the vehicles was a 2016 Jeep Rubicon and the other was a 2004 Honda Accord.
The scanner also stated that there were three victims involved: two women and one child. If the information from the scanner is correct, then the CHP improperly withheld not just the child’s name, but all other information regarding him or her, including the fundamental fact that a child was involved.
In California, the identities of all accident victims are public information and cannot legally be kept secret by law enforcement agencies. Government entities can legally withhold the name of someone who was killed in an accident pending notification of next of kin, but once next of kin has been told, the government is obligated to release the information.
Unlike the CHP, the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office may have given the child’s name as an “Involved Party,” although this is by no means certain. The sheriff’s log for June 24 lists Alma Esly Bautista-Michel of Orland as the deceased; Jorge Eduardo Bautista (her son) of Orland as the next of kin; and Juan Leyva-Rodriguez of Orland as an “Involved Party.”
According to the CHP’s news release, at about 8:04 a.m. on Monday, June 24, a 46-year-old Orland woman (later identified by the Glenn County Sheriff’s Office as Alma Esly Bautista-Michel) was driving a Honda Accord east on County Road 24 at an unknown speed, approaching the stop sign at County Road M.
Sandy Barragan, 27, of Orland, was driving a Jeep Rubicon south on County Road M, approaching the intersection with Road 24. There is no stop sign for southbound vehicles on County Road M at Road 24.
CHP investigators believe that Alma Esly Bautista-Michel drove the Honda into the intersection as Sandy Barragan was approaching from the north in the Jeep. The front end of the Jeep collided with the driver’s side of the Honda, causing the Jeep to spin around in a counterclockwise direction and come to rest partially blocking the intersection.
The Honda was pushed in a southeasterly direction, causing it to spin around and come to rest facing west, just east of Road M.
According to scanner broadcasts, extrication, presumably for the occupant or occupants of the Honda, was necessary. A call-out for extra help from the Orland Fire Department was made, and two ground ambulances, as well as the FlightCare helicopter, were requested.
After the person was extricated, CPR began. Sometime later, FlightCare was cancelled and Alma Bautista-Michel was transported by ground ambulance to Glenn Medical Center in Willows, according to the sheriff’s log.
She was pronounced deceased at about 9:42 a.m., and a coroner’s investigation was initiated.
According to the CHP’s news release, the driver of the Jeep, Sandy Barragan, was transported with minor injuries to Enloe hospital in Chico.
Both drivers were wearing their seat belts at the time of the collision. It is unknown if the safety equipment for the child, if there was a child in one of the vehicles, was in use.
The Glenn County Observer 