2 Local Teenagers Killed, 1 Seriously Injured in Sutter County Traffic Accident

Two local teenagers lost their lives Saturday evening during a traffic accident along Highway 99, at Nicolaus Avenue, in Sutter County.

Killed were 19-year-old Delfino Gaona and Alejandro 'Alex' Silva, 17, both of Dixon. The Chico California Highway Patrol said that the teens were riding in a 1995 Saturn sedan driven by Justin Andrews, 18, of Dixon, south on Highway 99.

The trio was following friends in a car ahead, when the car they were following made a left turn onto Nicolaus Avenue, according to the CHP. Andrews also made a left turn onto east Nicolaus Avenue, but did so in path of a 2005 GMC Yukon, traveling north on Highway 99 the CHP said.

The Yukon – driven by Amber Klugh, 28, with passengers Jeremy Klugh, 29, and their two infant children, all of Yuba City – hit the right side of the Saturn broadside causing fatal injuries to Gaona and Silva. The CHP said that Gaona was killed instantly.

Emergency response crews went to the scene of the accident at 11:18 p.m., and two air ambulances transported Silva and Andrews to Sutter Roseville Hospital. The CHP said Silva succumbed to his injuries at the hospital; Andrews sustained major injuries including a punctured lung and lacerated liver.

The Klugh family was reportedly not injured and declined medical attention at the scene. Investigators closed down a stretch of Highway 99 for two-and-a-half hours while they attempted to piece together the cause of the wreck, allow for emergency crews to extricate and transport the teens to the hospital, and removed the vehicles from the roadway.

The CHP said it does not know if drugs or alcohol were factors in the wreck as the investigation is ongoing. Anyone who witnessed the accident is asked to contact the CHP Yuba-Sutter office at (530) 674-5141.

Editor's Note:  An earlier version of this article stated Alex Silva was from Vacaville. He is from Dixon. Also, a CHP report indicated that Silva's first name was Alexander. It is Alejandro (the Spanish version of the name Alexander).