UPDATE–CUDDY VALLEY, CA (Thursday, July 10, 2014 at 2:23 p.m.)—The official report is not yet available, but California Highway Patrol Fort Tejon Office spokesperson Adriaan Garcia said the crash took place at about 1:45 a.m. Thursday morning. The driver of a Toyota 4-Runner SUV was Tyson Caldwell, 18 (born in 1996). A female passenger, 17, was taken to the hospital by ambulance. Reports from other sources say there may have been five people in the vehicle originally. No official reports about additional injuries have been released.
The location noted by the reporting CHP officer was .4 mile north of Cuddy Valley Road in the Tecuya Mountain Road area, Garcia said, looking at preliminary notes. He said there were no arrests. He did not find a note about a 50 foot cliff. The final report will not be immediately available.
The time difference between what was reported by the Kern County Fire Department and the CHP, Garcia said, is caused by the CHP’s practice of reporting the estimated time of the accident, and the KCFD’s report of time at which the unit responds to the event.
UPDATE–CUDDY VALLEY, CA (Thursday, July 10, 2014 at 1 p.m.)—We are still awaiting additional official confirmation about what occurred early this morning at Cherry Creek when a car went over a drop of 50′, according to the Kern County Fire Department information officer. Meanwhile, residents of the area report that this spot has been a ‘party’ spot for teens. Another says there were five, not three, people in the car originally. This is unconfirmed, but they are said to be high school juniors and seniors, with one in the hospital with painful injuries, and that the vehicle on the rugged trail was a standard car [later reported by the CHP to be a Toyota 4-Runner SUV].
An individual who helps groom 4×4 trails said this is a hazardous area.
CUDDY VALLEY, CA (Thursday, July 10, 2014 at 10 a.m.)—A car went over a 50′ drop in Cuddy Valley, in the Cherry Creek area before 3 a.m. this morning according to a spokesperson for the Kern County Fire Department. There were three occupants of the car, KCFD spokesman Sean Collins said. Unofficial reports said there were 5 occupants of the car.
Kern County Fire Station #57 and California Highway Patrol responded. Residents were aware of activity and notified The Mountain Enterprise also. We are awaiting more details, and will report them as available.
This is part of the July 11, 2014 online edition of The Mountain Enterprise.
Have an opinion on this matter? We'd like to hear from you.
