Thadeus Greenson

The Times-Standard

A grisly collision on Highway 101 near Piercy left a Laytonville woman dead and closed the highway for more than five hours Wednesday night, July 21.__According to a California Highway Patrol press release, 37-year-old Saskia Martin, of Benbow, was driving her Subaru Forester northbound on Highway 101 north of State Route 271 when she attempted to pass a slow moving big rig.

When Martin changed lanes and accelerated to about 60 mph to pass the truck, she saw a bicycle lying in the lane directly in front of her, according to the release, which caused her to hit her brakes and swerve across a five-foot-wide asphalt dividing section and into the southbound lane. Martin lost control of her vehicle, according to the release, and spun directly into the path of an on coming Toyota SUV driven by 44-year-old Tonia Evans of Laytonville, which also carried her husband, Allen Evans, 52. The two cars collided, causing the Toyota to overturn and roll several times before coming to rest on its wheels on the east shoulder of the highway, according to the release.

Tonia Evans sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene. Her husband, Allen Evans, was also injured, and was transported to a local hospital where he was treated and released.

Martin was uninjured, according to the release, but later complained of pain to her neck and left arm.

CHP officers contacted Martin at the scene, where she was interviewed and released. CHP continues to investigate whether drugs and alcohol were a factor in the collision.

An apparently abandoned bicycle was recovered from the crash scene, according to the release.

The collision left Highway 101 closed for a total of five hours and 20 minutes until it was re-opened at 2:49 a.m. Thursday. The crash remains under investigation.