Van Hits Tree Near Del Paso Park, Trapping Four Including 1-Year-Old

A van carrying four people, including a 1-year-old child, slammed into a tree along the 3000 block of Auburn Boulevard on Wednesday afternoon, trapping everyone inside and sending all four to the hospital. The driver later told investigators they may have fallen asleep just before the vehicle drifted off the roadway near Morse Avenue and struck the tree along the edge of Del Paso Regional Park.

The Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District responded around 3:57 p.m. to the crash site bordering the park, according to CBS News. Crews found the van wrapped around a tree and had to physically extricate all four occupants from the wreckage before firefighters could get them to a hospital, as FOX40 reported. First responders performed CPR on a man at the scene, though his condition has not been made public.

The infant hospitalized in the crash was identified as a 1-year-old, per the same CBS News account. The extended rescue effort needed to free all four occupants underscores how forceful the impact was when the van left the road and struck the tree.

Fire District Renews Push on Seat Belts and Car Seats

In the aftermath, the Sacramento Metropolitan Fire District said seat belts and properly installed child safety seats save lives, urging that every occupant be appropriately restrained before a vehicle even begins moving. That reminder lines up with California Vehicle Code Section 27360, which requires children under 2 to ride in a rear-facing child restraint unless they weigh at least 40 pounds or stand at least 40 inches tall, while kids under 8 must ride in a car seat or booster in the back seat, according to the California Highway Patrol.

National data cited by Safe Kids Sacramento suggests that isn't a small concern: nearly 46 to 50 percent of child car seats are improperly installed. The organization and local fire districts offer free car seat checks across the county for parents who want a certified technician to inspect restraint angle and harness fit. Federal safety data from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, cited by the Cosumnes Community Services District, shows that a properly installed rear-facing car seat cuts the risk of fatal injury by 71 percent for infants under 1 in passenger car crashes.

A Corridor Already Flagged for Safety Upgrades

California Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the crash, and the driver's account of possibly falling asleep remains one detail under review rather than a determined cause. Auburn Boulevard has drawn scrutiny before: Sacramento County's Local Road Safety Plan named intersections along the corridor, including nearby Watt Avenue, among the top collision locations in unincorporated Sacramento County, according to the Sacramento County Department of Transportation.

The city of Sacramento launched the Arden-Auburn Mobility Plan in February to design safety and infrastructure upgrades along Auburn Boulevard and Arden Way, both of which sit on the city's High Injury Network. The stretch where Wednesday's crash happened runs alongside Del Paso Regional Park, a 356-acre city-owned park known for groves of century-old oak trees lining the roadway — mature trees that pose a serious impact hazard for any vehicle that leaves the pavement.

It's the latest in a string of severe single-vehicle crashes in the area this year. Hoodline previously reported on a fatal Arden-Arcade crash that snapped a power pole just a day earlier, and a Citrus Heights driver died in a separate Auburn Boulevard crash earlier this month. A single-vehicle crash also shut down Business 80 near Marconi Avenue in March.

No citations or charges had been announced as of Wednesday's crash, and the conditions of the three adults and the 1-year-old, including the man who received CPR at the scene, had not been publicly updated.