Driver Loses Control of Van
By Pete Skiba - Friday, July 21, 2000
A Grass Valley driver suffered minor injuries when his van ran off of McCourtney Road and smashed into a fence at about 10 a.m. Thursday, the California Highway Patrol reported.
Paul Bean, 44, used a joystick to control the speed and direction of his specially equipped Ford van because he doesn't have the use of his legs, said CHP Officer Dave Qualls. Bean lost control of the joystick and crashed into a wooden fence surrounding the pond at Silver Springs High School, Qualls said.
Bean's left elbow was lacerated and he complained of abdominal pain.
A Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital ambulance was at the scene but Bean refused its services, Qualls said.
According to a dispatch report, Bean instead requested a Nevada County Dial-A-Ride paratransit van to take him to Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital.
Bean was treated and released, a nursing supervisor said.
Nevada County Consolidated Fire Protection District also responded to the accident.
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