One airlifted, four others hospitalized, after Shingletown head-on crash

December 26, 2021 Trevor Montgomery

SHINGLETOWN, Calif. — Authorities say five people were injured, including one who was airlifted from the scene with critical injuries, after a two-vehicle head-on collision in east Shingletown on Christmas day.

The collision, which forced the hours-long closure of Hwy. 44, happened near Miller Ranch Road according to California Highway Patrol – Northern Division Air Operations, whose Aviation Officers were instrumental in ferrying the critically injured victim to Mercy Medical Center in Redding after the accident.

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CHP – Redding officers and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene shortly before 1:30 p.m. after receiving reports of a two-vehicle crash, CHP – Northern Division Air Ops later reported in a social media release that included a video of the helicopter landing at the hospital with the critically injured victim.

When officials arrived, they found two involved passenger sedans with a total of five injured occupants and updated that the highway was completely blocked by vehicle parts and debris, along with responding emergency vehicles and personnel.

A head-on crash in Shingletown on Christmas day sent five people to the hospital and forced the hours-long closure of Hwy. 44. KRCR News Channel 7 / Austin Herbaugh images

Medical personnel began evaluating and treating those injured in the collision and requested a helicopter to the scene to airlift the most critically injured victim, at which time a CHP helicopter was launched to the area to assist.

Four other victims, including one who suffered major injuries, were transported by ground ambulances to area hospitals according to CHP; who described the additional three victims’ injuries as ranging from minor to moderate.

During their subsequent investigation, officers determined the head-on collision happened when one of the vehicles lost control while driving along the snow and ice-covered two-lane mountain highway.

The impact sent both cars careening off the roadway, with one of the cars going off the embankment and the other coming to rest with its back end on top of a guardrail.

Although Highway 44 remained closed and impassable for around two hours while officials worked at the scene and cleared the wrecked vehicles from the area, traffic was able to bypass the collision site on nearby Miller Ranch Road.

CHP’s investigation is ongoing and no further details have been released.

Click any image to open full size gallery.

KRCR News Channel 7 / Austin Herbaugh images

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Trevor Montgomery, 50, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).

Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.

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.