Woman Killed After Crashing Stolen Car Identified

The Shasta County Coroner’s Office has identified a woman who died when she plowed into the rear of a parked big rig in Bella Vista on Wednesday. 31-year-old Erika M Westlake of Chico was driving what the CHP says was a stolen 2004 Toyota Prius eastbound on Highway 299. She had just passed Old Alturas Road at around 55 miles an hour when she turned the small car to the right and traveled along the shoulder of the road. Without ever applying the brakes, she ran the car right into the back of an unloaded logging truck sitting on the roadside. The truck driver, 64-year-old Daniel Ralph Cox of Montgomery Creek, was not injured. Westlake suffered major injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem exam has been scheduled by the coroner’s office.

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