Three people were seriously injured Thursday morning in a six-vehicle, head-on DUI crash on Highway 49 in Nevada County.

•   A drug-impaired SUV driver was speeding on Highway 49 and veered into the oncoming traffic lane.

•   He sideswiped two pickup trucks and then slammed head-on into an oncoming minivan.

•   The minivan driver and her 6-year-old passenger both suffered major injuries. They were airlifted to two different hospitals.

•   The SUV driver was charged with DUI and possession of drug paraphernalia. He sustained major injuries and was still in serious condition on Saturday.

UPDATED SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24

The major injury car accident occurred shortly before 8:30 a.m., according to a report in the Nevada County Union.

The California Highway Patrol said 30-year-old Auburn resident Adam Duncan was driving under the influence of alcohol when he caused the accident.

Duncan was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe sports utility vehicle northbound on Highway 49 erratically and at a high rate of speed. He allowed the SUV to drift across the center line and into the southbound lane.

The SUV sideswiped a 2002 Ford pickup truck driven by 30-year-old Derek Hiatt of Grass Valley and kept on going the wrong way in the southbound lane, the CHP said.  Then the SUV hit a 1998 Toyota pickup truck driven by 23-year-old Charles Lowry, also a Grass Valley resident.

Duncan continued to drive the wrong way — northbound — in the southbound lane at high speed. An oncoming 2006 Toyota Sienna minivan, driven by 48-year-old Alison Cohen of Nevada City, swerved to the right to try to avoid being hit by Duncan’s SUV, but it didn’t work. Duncan’s SUV slammed head-on into Cohen’s minivan on the shoulder of the highway.

Cohen and her 6-year-old passenger suffered major injuries. Cohen was flown to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, where she was treated for her injuries and subsequently released. The child was flown to U.C. Davis Medical Center. The exact nature and extent of their injuries was not known.

Duncan was arrested at the scene on charges of driving under the influence and possession of drug paraphernalia. He was then airlifted to Sutter Roseville, where he remained in serious condition on Saturday, according to hospital spokesperson Robin Montgomery.

Drug-Impaired Driving

Eighteen percent of drivers killed in car accidents test positive for at least one drug —  illicit, prescription, or over-the-counter — according to the latest National Highway Transportation Safety Administration statistics (2009).

The problem of drugged/drunk driving is particularly acute among teens aged 16 to 19, for whom motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause of death. In a National Institutes of Health survey, 30 percent of high school seniors reported driving after drinking heavily or using drugs — or riding in a car whose driver had been drinking heavily or using drugs — at least once in the preceding two weeks.

More teens drive under the influence of marijuana than under the influence of alcohol. In the NIH survey, 13 percent of seniors said they drove after using marijuana while 10 percent said they drove after having five or more drinks.

Nevada County Car Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident victims and their families for more than 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.