Woman who repeatedly rammed big rig during Burney road rage incident arrested

October 1, 2020 Trevor Montgomery

UPDATED: Thursday, Oct. 1, 1:15 p.m.

See Original Story below.

BURNEY, Calif. — In a follow up interview with California Highway Patrol, CHP Public Information Officer Morton confirmed to SCNS this afternoon that a 32-year-old, Alturas woman was arrested after fleeing the scene of a non-injury “sideswipe” traffic collision involving at least two big rigs and possibly involving several other vehicles early this morning.

According to Morton, after fleeing the scene of the initial collision the alleged suspect, identified by Morton as Rachael Daniels, of Modoc County, returned to the scene and began threatening to kill the big-rig driver before “intentionally ramming” his tractor-trailer semi numerous times, destroying her Chevy Cruz in the process.

Although Daniels fled the scene a second time, witnesses in other vehicles followed her heavily damaged Chevy for several miles until it became disabled and could go no further.

According to Morton, several of those involved vehicles may have also been damaged during Daniels’ rampage and subsequent attempt to flee the area.

Based on their investigation, Daniels was booked into Shasta County Jail on charges of assault with a deadly weapon involving a motor vehicle and she could face additional charges for leaving the scene of the initial accident and subsequent intentional rammings.

Morton said CHP’s investigation is ongoing and no further information was available at this time.

Original Story:

BURNEY, Calif. — Authorities say a woman was arrested after a traffic collision between a passenger vehicle and tractor-trailer semi in the Burney area led to a violent road rage incident earlier this morning, Thursday, Oct. 1.

The initial traffic collision that led to the violent encounter happened in the area of SR-89 and SR-299E.

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CHP was first notified of the collision shortly after 6 a.m., when a man called 911 to report he and a woman had just been involved in a “sideswipe” collision with a big-rig and that both vehicles were blocking the roadway, according to a CHP incident log.

The caller then reported nobody was injured in the accident and that the person who was driving the vehicle he had been in, identified at the time only as Rachael, did not want law enforcement to be called regarding the collision.

CHP’s incident log then indicated the woman threw the man’s phone out of her vehicle before leaving him and the truck driver at the scene in a grey Chevy Cruze. She was last seen heading toward the 4 corners area.

The original caller then reported the woman had returned to the scene and had threatened to kill the big rig driver “several times” before going into a rampage. According to CHP’s log, the driver then rammed her Chevy into the tractor-trailer – described as a green rig with flatbed hauling sheetrock – at least four times.

According to the caller, the woman then fled the scene once again headed toward 4 corners. He described that the Chevy sustained major damage and no longer had working headlights, which were destroyed in the multiple intentional collisions.

CHP’s dispatch then updated that they had spoken with the driver of the big rig who advised he was uninjured but that his rig and trailer were still in the roadway, blocking traffic. Due to the extended ETA for CHP, the driver advised he would pull his rig from the roadway “if he could safely do so” and would wait for officers to arrive.

Based on the updated circumstances, CHP requested deputies from the Burney Sheriff’s Station respond to the area to assist their officers, who were still headed to the scene.

At around 6:40 a.m., the original 911 caller called CHP once again to advise that the woman who fled the scene had managed to drive her heavily damaged vehicle several miles before her vehicle became disable and could not go any further. He advised she was on SR-89, about four miles from the scene of the crash and five miles east of SR-44.

Deputies finally located and detained her, according to Shasta County Sheriff’s Sgt. Marc StClair; who said CHP handled all other aspects of the investigation.

Based on their subsequent investigation, CHP arrested the driver and she was transported to Shasta County Jail in Redding. Her name and charges have not yet been released by CHP, who had not returned a phone request for further information as of this report.

The woman’s heavily damaged vehicle was then towed from the scene.

Contacted for more information, a Shasta County Sheriff’s Office representative confirmed that Burney Station deputies had assisted CHP in locating and arresting the woman. She then referred all further questions to CHP.

This is a developing story that will be updated as new information becomes available.

Click image to open full-size screen shot of CHP incident log.

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Contact the editor: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 49, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and Mountain Echo in Shasta County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back, and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s accident.)

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations; including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center, and Lake Elsinore Station; along with other locations.

Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.

Trevor has been married for more than 30 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 18 grandchildren.