(Illustration by Joe Dworetzky/Bay City News)
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Something significant happened to me, and several people suggested I tell the story of my car crash and how kind all these strangers in Mendocino County helped me through a very, very close call.
This happened a little less than a month ago, around 8-9 p.m., a bit outside of Laytonville. I was on my way up to Whitethorn from the Bay Area for a birthday trip when I suddenly hydroplaned and spun out off the road, crashing 50 feet down into a steep ravine (the site is named “Steep Gulch”) off the side of U.S. Highway 101.
My car barreled through some trees, and I lost consciousness after the car slammed into an old oak. According to the guy who towed the car out, I’m very, very lucky. Not only was the car totaled with extreme damage to the driver’s side, but it was held up by only a few trees before a steep drop into the riverbed.
I don’t remember this well but apparently I woke up, got myself out of the wreck, and climbed back up to the highway where some Good Samaritans stopped to coordinate help and called for emergency response.
The vehicle driven by Steph (Yin) Zhao after hydroplaning and crashing 50 feet down a steep ravine outside of Laytonville, Calif., on Aug. 8, 2025. Zhao received minor injuries and was assisted by multiple people in Mendocino County after the accident. (Steph (Yin) Zhao via Bay City News)
The California Highway Patrol, the fire department, and EMTs showed up. They took me away to Adventist Health Howard Memorial in Willits, and I was taken care of by the nurses there. The CHP officer who came to follow up was surprised at how unscathed I was. He told the doctors about the drop and the significant damage to the car and suggested more scans.
I was discharged in a couple of hours after they confirmed that I had nothing but a cut and some bruises.
Community kindness
This whole incident feels like a miracle. There were so many things that could have gone wrong, but they didn’t. A big part of that was because of all the kind strangers that I encountered through the emergency and in the aftermath.
I’m beyond grateful to:
The woman who caught me after I climbed up to the highway, kept me calm, put hand warmer packets in my socks, and let me wait in her car.
The man who couldn’t speak English or understand anything we were saying but kept me warm with his jacket and held me when I started coming down from the shock and started freaking out.
The people who drove ahead to call for help because the accident happened in a stretch of road without cell service.
When I was discharged from the hospital, it was well past midnight. I was over a hundred miles from home, no car and didn’t know a single person. I didn’t even have clothes because they were cut off in the ambulance.
I’m grateful to the nurses in the Willits ER who found something in the hospital that fit me.
The nurses coordinated during their breaks, and one gave me a ride to a nearby motel and waited until I was checked in.
The next day, the hospital called me to come back ASAP because they saw something potentially serious.
I had no way to get there, but the host at the front desk of the motel tried to coordinate a ride for me.
The motel owner ended up coming out just to drive me back to the hospital.
The vehicle driven by Steph (Yin) Zhao after hydroplaning and crashing 50 feet down a steep ravine outside of Laytonville, Calif., on Aug. 8, 2025. Zhao received minor injuries and was assisted by multiple people in Mendocino County after the accident. (Steph (Yin) Zhao via Bay City News)
Then my partner came up from Oakland to bring me home. We went to the scrapyard where the wreck was towed, and I got to see the extent of the damage.
The man who towed the car out of the gulch and stored it took care to keep everything as dry as possible under a tarp. He was incredibly kind when we came to collect what we could from the car. He cracked jokes and gave me lots of advice about my bruised ribs.
I made it back home to Oakland the next day and I’ve just been recovering and processing it all. The thing that sticks with me is how every person that I encountered was wonderful.
Lessons Learned
Everyone told me that it was the first rain of the season. Apparently all the dust and oil gets picked up and flows downhill. The people at the hospital said there are a lot of accidents during the rainy season.
I had new tires and I was driving normally, at the speed limit with the other cars, and I just happened to be the one who hit a patch of water. I won’t be driving anytime soon, but if I get another car, I’ll definitely be slowing down a lot more when it’s wet.
Thank you, Mendocino County.
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