Maxwell man dies in single-car accident

A Maxwell man was the third to die on a Colusa County roadway in the past three weeks.

Diego Valdez, 22, was killed Saturday around 10:30 p.m. when his 1991 Dodge drifted off the road and struck a tree, according to the California Highway Patrol.

CHP Officer John Waggoner said it is unknown if alcohol was involved or if Valdez simply fell asleep at the wheel.

Valdez was driving north on Old Highway 99W, just north of Delevan Road, when he allowed his vehicle to cross over the center line and off the road, according to the report of CHP Officer Richard Owens.

Owens said although Valdez was wearing a seat belt and shoulder harness, he collided head on with the tree at an unknown speed, sustaining fatal injuries as a result of the impact.

Waggoner said three fatal car accidents have occurred in Colusa County since Memorial Day and five have occurred in the Yuba-Sutter area during the same period.

"That is a lot of fatalities in a short period of time," Waggoner said. "It's certainly a lot for our area."

On May 31, Debbie Ferchaud of Goldendale, Wash., was fatally injured on State Route 20, west of Walnut Drive, when she allowed her vehicle to cross the center line and collide head on with another vehicle driven by Jack Marquis, 87, of Arcata.

Upon impact, both vehicles caught fire and ignited a grass fire that burned about 7 acres.

Ferchaud, 54, was not wearing her seat belt, according to the CHP report. She was airlifted to UC Davis Medical Center, where she died two days later.

Marquis received major injuries and remains at Enloe Medical Center in good condition, an Enloe spokeswoman said Monday.

Eldena E. Azevedo, 57, of Williams was killed May 23 when she crossed the center line just south of Finks Road and drove into the path of a 1999 Ford pickup driven by Beau Waddell, 38, also of Williams. Azevedo was not wearing a seat belt, according to the CHP report.

Waddell and his passenger Stacy Waddell, 37, were treated and released at area hospitals.

Waggoner said that although drugs or alcohol are not suspected in the accidents that killed Ferchaud and Azevedo, blood analysis is being done on all three victims.

Waggoner said toxicology results for Valdez will not be available for several weeks.