79-year-old man suffers major injuries after walking onto Highway 101
A 79-year-old man suffered major injuries after he walked onto Highway 101 in Atascadero on yesterday afternoon, the California Highway Patrol reports.
On Monday, at about 3:31 p.m. Manuel Lares, 68, of Santa Maria, was driving his 2003 Toyota Sequoia with a utility trailer in tow. The vehicle was traveling in the #2 lane of southbound Highway 101 just north of Del Rio Road, at 55 miles per hour. Jo Lillis, 79, of Chico, Calif., was a pedestrian who had traveled onto the freeway and was standing on the west shoulder, observing traffic.
For unknown reasons, Lillis began to traverse the freeway, traveling eastbound into the #2 lane, directly into the path of the Lares, the report says. He swerved to avoid striking Lillis, but the right side of his vehicle and trailer struck Lillis throwing him to the ground.
As a result, Lillis suffered major injuries and was transported to Twin Cities Hospital with non life threatening injuries. None of the occupants of the Toyota were injured. The cause of the collision is still under investigation. Alcohol and or drug impairment are not suspected contributing factors at this time.
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