The California Highway Patrol says a man checking himself out in his rear-view mirror for shaving cuts is responsible for causing a two-vehicle crash that sent two women to the hospital Friday morning. According to the CHP, Katrin Mayer, 40, of Berlin, Germany, was driving a 2007 Toyota eastbound on the highway in the number 2, or slow, lane shortly before 7:30 a.m. As she approached Sunkist Road, Mayer slowed to about 15 miles per hour to make a right turn onto Sunkist. Cesar Vela, 35, of Yucca Valley, who was driving behind Mayer in a 2011 Acura at about 70 miles per hour, looked in his rear-view mirror to see if he had any shaving cuts on his face. When he looked back at the road, he saw Mayer’s Toyota about 50 feet in front of him and traveling very slowly. Vela attempted to brake, but rear-ended Mayer’s Toyota, and his Acura then spun out of control, coming to rest facing west on the south shoulder on the highway. The collision caused Mayer’s Toyota to hit an embankment on the south side of the highway. The car rolled over as it crossed over Sunkist Avenue and struck a stop sign, a wooden post, before finally slamming into a utility pole and landing on its side. Katrin Mayer and her passenger, Eva Birkenstock, 36, of Manhattan, New York, were both taken to Hi-Desert Medical Center with minor injuries. The CHP says distracted driving is a factor in the collision.
