Two people were killed and two others were injured Tuesday evening when a car crossed the median on Highway 99 in Sutter County and slammed head-on into an SUV, overturning into a ditch. The crash happened just south of Howsley Road near the Pleasant Grove community, shutting down the northbound highway for hours as investigators worked the scene.
According to CBS Sacramento, officers with the California Highway Patrol's Yuba-Sutter division responded around 5:27 p.m. to northbound Highway 99, south of Howsley Road. A white Toyota Corolla had been traveling southbound when it crossed the dirt median and collided head-on with a Volvo XC60. The force of the impact sent the Toyota rolling over before it came to rest in a ditch.
The Toyota's driver and front passenger both died at the scene, the outlet reported. A rear passenger in the Toyota suffered major injuries and was flown by air ambulance to UC Davis Medical Center for treatment. The man driving the Volvo suffered only minor injuries.
Identities Confirmed, Cause Still Unclear
The Sutter County Sheriff's Office identified the two people who died only as a man and a woman, according to a separate report from KCRA. The station's report places the crash near the Pleasant Grove community and notes that the collision forced a temporary closure of northbound Highway 99, with traffic diverted onto Howsley Road before the roadway reopened.
CHP has not said what caused the Toyota to cross into oncoming lanes. The agency told CBS Sacramento it is not yet known whether alcohol or drugs played a role, and the cause of the crash remains under investigation.
A Stretch of Highway With a Deadly History
This is not the first fatal head-on crash along this corridor. In September 2024, three people died in a similar head-on collision on Highway 99 in Sutter County when a southbound Dodge crossed the solid double line and crashed into a northbound Nissan, per KCRA. Two occupants of the Nissan and one occupant of the Dodge died in that crash, while several others were hospitalized. CHP said at the time that drugs and alcohol were found in the Dodge and believed to be a factor.
Howsley Road itself, near the junction of state highways 70 and 99, has also been the site of past tragedy. A wrong-way collision there killed 25-year-old Marysville woman Ashley Yvonne Ruby Syders, who was driving a Chrysler Pacifica minivan the wrong way on Highway 99 when it struck a GMC Denali head-on, according to the Appeal-Democrat. The Denali's driver suffered major injuries in that crash.
No connection has been established between Tuesday's crash and ongoing roadwork along the corridor. Caltrans has announced several projects in the area in recent years, including a $15.8 million safety improvement project that began with detours at Oswald Road and a levee-related lane shift near Howsley Road, though the available reporting does not tie either project to this week's collision.
