Posted on 05/21/2007 1:51:57 PM PDT by zendari
A Vallejo woman reportedly suffered minor injuries Friday when her car was rear-ended by an SUV driven by a state senator talking on a cell phone while driving through Solano County.
State Sen. Carole Migden, D-San Francisco, was driving her new state-issued 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid SUV at 10:40 a.m. on eastbound Highway 12 at Beck Avenue when she rear-ended Ellen Butawan, 31, of Vallejo, California Highway Patrol Officer Marvin Williford said.
Butawan's 2005 Honda sedan was slowing behind a 2003 GMC Savana van that had stopped at a red light, Williford said. The impact forced Butawan's car into the rear of the van, driven by Bob Jordan, 57, of Turlock.
Butawan complained of pain after the three-vehicle smashup and went to NorthBay Medical Center in Fairfield after the crash as a precautionary measure, Williford said.
Migden, 58, accepted blame Friday for the accident.
The collision remains under investigation, but it appears Migden took the wrong exit, inadvertently going on the eastbound I-80 connector onto eastbound Highway 12, Williford said. She was looking for a way to get back onto the freeway when she crashed into Butawan's vehicle, he said.
Migden's sobriety was verified by officers using a hand-held breath-testing unit, even though there was nothing to indicate she had been drinking, Williford said. "It was just a precaution," he said.
Her SUV, which she recently swapped for her taxpayer-funded 2005 Cadillac STS, sustained a dented front grill that kept the hood from closing properly. It was towed to the Fairfield CHP office, where officers used a coat hanger and duct-tape to secure it, before Migden drove it away to a meeting in Marin County.
Migden last year voted for a new law that takes effect in July 2008 that will impose a minimum fine of $20 for anyone caught using a cell phone while driving without a headset, ear bud or other technology that frees both hands.
All we need now is for the barbarian hordes to show up...
The carpetmunchers vs. the fudgepackers. Gee, who to root for ?
Now what was you sayin, Grampa Dave, over on that other thred??? We needs ta hear it/read it over here!!!
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