Five Twentynine Palms residents were injured in a head-on collision in Twentynine Palms Monday, three of them seriously. According to CHP officer Colin Quayle, witnesses said Charles Newton, 62, was driving a 1995 Ford F150 pickup truck erratically eastbound on Indian Trail about 12:50 p.m. As Newton approached Knoll Drive, he swerved directly into the path of a 2001 Chrysler Sebring, driven westbound on Indian Trail by Allison Lithgow, 36. Lithgow took evasive action, but was unable to avoid a head-on collision with Newton’s truck. Allison Lithgow, Charles Newton, and his passenger Jimmie Newton, 58, all suffered major injuries; Lithgow’s passengers, Gregory Mannion, 47, and Nancy Lithgow, 1, suffered minor injuries. All the parties were taken to Desert Hospital in Palm Springs. It’s not known if alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash.
