25-year-old dies in Highway 101 accident
–Charles Dean Wyrick, 25, of Paso Robles was killed Thursday in an accident on Highway 101 while passing vehicles, California Highway Patrol reports.
On Thursday at about 8:58 p.m., Wyrick was traveling in a 2005 Toyota Tundra heading southbound in the fast lane of Highway 101, just south of Stockdale Road. On the highway in front of him were two uninvolved vehicles in the fast lane and a 2013 Scion FRS in the slow lane, the report says.
Wyrick moved to pass the slower moving vehicles in front of him, the report says. He moved into the slow lane to pass the vehicles in front of him and approached the rear of the Scion, driven by Ka Wai Chan, 24, of Santa Barbara, the report says. As the Tundra changed lanes from the slow lane, to the fast lane, the right side of Tundra collided with the left side of the Scion, the report says.
The impact, coupled with the Tundra’s speed, caused Wyrick to lose control of his vehicle. As a result, the vehicle traveled off the west road edge of Highway 101, and down a descending embankment where it overturned ejecting him. He suffered from major blunt force trauma.
Wyrick was transported to Sierra Vista Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries. Drug and alcohol use have not been ruled out as contributing factors, and Wyrick’s use of safety equipment has still not been confirmed.
The cause of the collision is still under investigation.
