Two Sacramento women who were badly injured when they were ejected from a car in a crash on state Highway 17 on Wednesday afternoon were not wearing seat belts, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The accident was reported at about 1:15 p.m. on northbound Highway 17, just north of Summit Road in Santa Clara County, after a 1995 Lexus sedan carrying four Sacramento residents went off the roadway and tumbled about 100 feet down an embankment, CHP investigators said.
The driver of the car, 21-year-old man, lost control of the Lexus, causing it to go off the eastern edge of the roadway and down the embankment, CHP officials said.
The roadway was wet at the time of the crash, according to the CHP.
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Two women -- a 19-year-old and 20-year-old who were sitting in the back seat without seatbelts -- were ejected from the car. They were transported to Stanford Hospital to be treated for major injuries, according to the CHP.
The driver and another 21-year-old man were taken to hospitals with minor injuries. They were wearing seat belts at the time of the crash, according to the CHP.
Drug or alcohol impairment is not believed to have been a factor in the crash. No other cars were involved, according to the CHP.
The roadway was shut down at Summit Road for about an hour and a half as crews investigated the crash.
