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Drivers survive spectacular Highway 99 crash
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Gregory Goodwin, 41, of Ripon, is wheeled on a stretcher from his overturned 2007 Chevy Blazer after a crash on Highway 99 Sunday afternoon. Goodwin was northbound in the inside, number one lane when his vehicle, and one driven by an Oregon woman collided in the fast lane. - photo by GLENN KAHL/The Bulletin
RIPON - It was seen as nothing short of a miracle that two freeway motorists, and one passenger survived a spectacular two car Sunday afternoon freeway crash with only cuts and bruises.
Shortly before 2 p.m. the two drivers were both northbound on Highway 99,  passing Hammett Road, just south of Ripon.  The driver of a blue 2003 GMC Envoy admittedly drifted off the road into the grass just south of the Stanislaus River, according to CHP officer Bill Splettstoesser.
Karen Reid, 57, told officers she may have dozed off as she drove northward in the right hand lane.  She was on her way back to her home in Granite Bay, Oregon.
After realizing she was in the grass, she said she attempted get back on the roadway, cutting her wheels to the left.  When the tires gained traction from the grass onto the roadway, her vehicle shot across the three lanes colliding with a Ripon motorist driving in the fast lane, according to officers.
Reid’s car turned over onto its side, and the white 2007 Chevy Trailblazer driven by Gregory Goodwin, 41, of Ripon, ended up on its roof, facing south,  about 100 feet away in the fast lane of the freeway.
Neither driver was trapped in their vehicle, according to CHP officer on the scene.  The airbags in the cars did not deploy in the impact.
Both drivers were transported by ambulance to Modesto area hospitals after medics treated them at the scene, and secured them on back boards.  Goodwin was taken to Doctors Medical Center, and Reid was transported to Memorial North.
Injuries were reported as minor after they were both checked out at the hospitals. They were reportedly limited to cuts, bruises and a possible broken nose.  A passenger in the GMC Envoy was uninjured, according to the CHP.
Northbound Sunday afternoon traffic was backed up beyond the Costco Store exit at Pelandale Avenue for more than an hour.  Southbound traffic was also slowed because of the curious drivers hesitating as they passed by the accident scene.