A Sacramento man was arrested for felony driving under the influence of drugs following a fatal crash in Lassen County on Tuesday morning. There were five vehicles involved in the pileup on Highway 36 west of Highway 395. The CHP says 49-year-old William Dougherty was driving too fast and was unable to slow down in time to prevent his Ford Club Ban from rear-ending a Chevy Equinox, which was then pushed into a big rig. After striking the Equinox the Ford van ran into a Jeep Wrangler, pushing it into a Chevy Silverado pickup. The driver of the Equinox, a 46 year-old Susanville woman, was killed in the crash and her 10-year-old female passenger suffered major injuries. Dougherty and the drivers of the Jeep and the pickup all sustained minor injuries, although Dougherty was not wearing a seatbelt. His charges include gross vehicular manslaughter.
-Steve Gibson