On the Skids in Carbon Canyon #s 5758 and #5857

Two more little accidents occurred over the last few days in Carbon Canyon. 



Poor La Vida Mineral Springs:  fire, graffiti, arundo, and now errant automobiles continue the devolution of what was once an impressive resort in the middle of Carbon Canyon


The first was a vehicle that was headed eastbound on the Brea side at the old La Vida Mineral Springs and skidded through the westbound lane and plowed down one of the last remaining sections of fence that had been (barely) standing along the roadside.

La Vida may mean "life" in Spanish, but this little detour by a vehicle at the old La Vida Mineral Springs meant death to one of the last remaining sections of standing fence along the west side of the highway

The other at the eastern end of Sleepy Hollow in Chino Hills involved a little blue coupe which went right while the road curved left and ran smack dab into an old stone foundation.  Discretion led a certain photographer to park up the road a piece and sneak in a few snaps.

A heavily damaged front end was the result of this coupe d'etat in which a stone foundation conquered a little blue car at the east end of Sleepy Hollow yesterday morning.

Incidentally, the late October collision that downed a portion of a fence in Sleepy Hollow was explained in a comment by "Homeowner," who may be the unfortunate resident whose lost sections of that wood enclosure a few times in the last six years and who knows how many others since--to the extent that steel bollards were installed in concrete bases to protect the fence.  Alas, this most recent accident proved the bollards to be somewhat deficient, as the driver plowed right through them, pulverized said fence, and wound up careening down into a ravine that runs through the yard from across Carbon Canyon Road and into the creek.

According to "Homeowner":   The woman was eastbound and fell asleep. Her car ended flipped in the ravine in the bottom of the yard. She was transported for observation, but was only shaken up per the deputy.

As it turns out, the Los Angeles Times ran an article several days ago that discussed a new study released by AAA, which stated that 40% of all drivers have reported falling asleep at the wheel at some point during their driving careers.  More concerning:  16.5% (that is, 1 in 6) fatalities are the result of sleepy drivers.

We tend, rightly, to place a lot of emphasis on intoxicated and speeding drivers, but there are, it now appears, a hefty number of incidents of sleep-deprived persons causing serious injury and death.  More than likely, plenty of people driving around at 3:30 a.m. is going to be at some degree of tired and thereby posing a risk to themselves and others.