Two teens critically injured in Loomis rollover

LOOMIS - A solo-vehicle car crash Monday morning on Barton Road near the intersection of Rocklin Road sent two young men to the hospital with major injuries.The Placer County Sheriff's Department has not released the names of the two 18-year-old victims."'They were traveling southbound on Barton Road, apparently hit an embankment, hit a tree and an inoperable telephone pole, flipped and landed on the roof," said Troy Minton-Sander, of the Placer County Sheriff's Department.Leslie and Scott Esson witnessed the 11 a.m. crash and phoned for emergency assistance."We were coming up Barton, looked up and saw the car airborne," Leslie Esson said. "The car had already started to turn. It hit with such impact he landed straight down."Scott Esson estimated the speed of the oncoming car to be about 60 mph. "It looked like something right out of the movies," Leslie Esson said.The couple said after calling for help, they checked on the two occupants of the smashed car."At that point all we could do was comfort them and let them know help was on the way," Leslie Esson said. Unable to open the car doors, the Essons continued to try to keep the injured young men calm."The passenger was saying he was paralyzed," Scott Esson said. "He was saying he couldn't feel his legs."As for the driver, all Esson could add was that he had major head trauma.Rescue crews extracted the victims using the Jaws of Life. Both were transported to Sutter Roseville by ambulance and were undergoing trauma treatment, Minton-Sander said."We are in the preliminary stages of the investigation at this point," he said. "Alcohol could have been a contributing factor."The Journal's Penne Usher can be reached at penneu@goldcountrymedia.com.