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Crash backs up Highway 99 traffic Wednesday morning

A crash on northbound Highway 99 backed up traffic for nearly three hours Wednesday morning.

At 8:45 a.m. Rito A. Garcia, 34, of Paramount, Calif., was driving north on Highway 99 in the No. 3 lane in a 2001 Isuzu 2 axle STK Bed. Garcia was driving between 50 to 60 mph and hauling a load of metal frames.

A big rig passed Garcia in the No. 2 and Garcia panicked, swerving his vehicle into the right lane. He lost control of his vehicle, over corrected to the left and the Isuzu overturned, spilling the entire load of frames across all northbound lanes.

Traffic became congested and stopped. Deiore T. Gilmore, 40, of Bakersfield, was trying to adjust the radio in her 2001 Ford Escape as she approached the traffic. She failed to stop in time and crashed into the back of a 2009 Chevy Cobalt driven by Devin Shaffer, 44, of Bakersfield, causing a chain-reaction crash.

A California Highway Patrol news release said a 2010 Toyota Camry driven by Adelaida Cervantes, 51, of Bakersfield, and a 2002 Ford F-450 driven by Troyce Kelly, 21, of Bakersfield, were also involved in the crash. The news release did not specify how the vehicles were involved.

Northbound lanes were backed up for nearly three hours while debris and vehicles were cleared from the road. Garcia and Gilmore suffered minor injuries. Gilmore was taken to Mercy Southwest Hospital.

Alcohol and drugs were not a factor in the crash.

-- Californian High Way Patrol

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