CHP officer, Cottonwood firefighter in I-5 accident

I-5 ACCIDENT:
A CHP officer was airlifted to the hospital with moderate injuries.

California Highway Patrol Officer Dwight Havens and Cottonwood Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Calvin Ciapponi were taken to Mercy Medical Center during a multiple-vehicle accident on the rain-slickened onramp to Interstate 5 from Gas Point Road in Cottonwood at about 4:50 p.m. Friday.

"It's mostly for precautionary measures. He said his neck is sore," Cottonwood Fire Protection District Chief Jim Flaherty said of Ciapponi's condition.

Ciapponi was smiling with fellow firefighters as they immobilized him on a stretcher. Cottonwood fire personnel were responding to a truck-and-trailer rollover when a Ford Tempo driven by Michael J. Tancreto, 26, of Redding, rear-ended a blue Ford T-Bird driven by Amy Lee McCarty with passenger Matt C. Lande, both of Redding.

Lande was talking on a cellphone and noticed too late that traffic had stopped, according to a CHP report.

Inside the CHP vehicle, Ciapponi was reporting to officer Havens about the previous accident, according to Flaherty.

In addition, a silver Datsun sports car rear-ended a Cottonwood district fire engine at about 50 mph, causing minor damage to the engine's rear bumper. The impact injured Cottonwood firefighter Rodney Chadbon, who complained of a sore shoulder after the impact threw him against the fire engine's door, he said.

"There are accidents here all the time," Chadbon said. of the off-ramp.

Havens' injuries were considered moderate on scene, and he was airlifted to Mercy Medical Center. He was reported to have only a sore neck and back on Monday by a CHP spokesman.

Also on Monday, Ciapponi said he felt fine, aside from a sore back. CHP is investigating the accident.