The startlingly visual death of a Glencoe woman was witnessed by dozens of people in the city of Jackson Monday afternoon.

The vehicle accident that caused it was just one of six crashes to mobilize emergency responders on local roads this week.

The fatality in Jackson occurred Nov. 16 just after 3:15 p.m. A crowd of onlookers stood in shock, some with tears in their eyes, as Jackson Police Chief Scott Morrison draped a blanket over the body of a woman who'd been ejected from a two-car collision on Highway 88/49 near Hoffman Street.

"This isn't what I was expecting to find," Morrison remarked solemnly as he watched Jackson firefighters struggle to free a bleeding man trapped in the same remnants of a Ford Crown Victoria that had ejected the woman. The man was 61-year-old Daniel Robert Jones of Glencoe. The woman who died was 59-year-old Wanda Jones, also of Glencoe. The couple had been at Radio Shack just minutes before.

According to the police investigation, Daniel Jones was driving the Ford as they left the shopping plaza. He made a hard left and accelerated. This brought him and Wanda directly into the path of Linda Knight of Pine Grove, who was behind the wheel of a gray Buick traveling westbound on the highway.

"It was just the right set of circumstances for a tragedy," Morrison observed. "Mr. Jones's speed, and the angle of his abrupt turn, put him in just the right position for this type of broadside. In addition to that, when Miss Knight was forced to apply her brakes, it caused the front of her Buick to dip low as she collided into the side of the Crown Vic. It was a combination of all those things that caused it to roll the way it did."

During the first roll, Wanda Jones was thrown out of the passenger window down onto the pavement. She had not been wearing her seat belt. The car's second roll came down on her with considerable force before it rested on its side.

The highway between Jackson branch of the Amador County Library and the post office was soon crowded with emergency responders, causing a blockage in the main artery of traffic pulsing through the city. The California Highway Patrol attempted to help the Jackson Police Department get cars moving as firefighters and paramedics continued with their work.

After Daniel Jones was pulled from the wreckage, he was rushed to Sutter Amador Hospital with cuts to his head. Knight did not sustain serious injuries in the crash.

Morrison said his department's investigation indicates that Knight is not the responsible party in the collision. "As far as Miss Knight goes, the accident was unavoidable on her end," the chief explained. "The witnesses interviewed corroborate the evidence on the roadway in saying that this was a right-of-way violation on the part of Mr. Jones."

Five days before, another serious accident took place in Amador County when two locals and a dog survived a powerful collision along Highway 88. The accident happened Nov. 12 at 4:40 p.m. on Highway 88 east of Toyon Road. Loretta Chua of West Point was driving her 2000 Ford Ranger down the road. Some passing motorists called the sheriff's office to report that she was handling her truck erratically, weaving around with a dog in the back. The callers feared for the dog's safety.

According to the California Highway Patrol, the 64-year-old lost control of her Ford and T-boned a Jackson man who was traveling the other way. The victim of the broadside was soon flown to University of California, Davis Medical Center in Sacramento with major injuries. Chua was also flown out of the scene by helicopter to Mercy San Juan Hospital's trauma center. Amador County Animal Control eventually responded to the scene to pick up the dog. The dog was not seriously hurt when ejected.

In the early morning hours of Nov. 18, a young woman driving along Climax Road lost control of her vehicle and overturned in a brushy area near the woods. The driver was not harmed in the roll.

The California Highway Patrol reported three other accidents this week, all resulting in property damage.