Mean Streets: The roads of Patterson saw three auto accidents in a single day this week, but no one was critically hurt.
 A Turlock man was dazed but not badly hurt Wednesday afternoon after his car collided with a semi-truck on East Las Palmas Avenue east of Patterson.
Pablo Enriquez, 52, was headed westbound in a 1986 Toyota Corolla when his car began to weave, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Keerat Lal. The car crossed the center line near Poplar Avenue and hit an eastbound 2000 Peterbilt truck.
“Man, he’s lucky he got out of there alive,” said Robert Soria, who lives across the street from where Enriquez crashed.
Soria said Enriquez did not remember the accident and complained of neck pain. Otherwise, he appeared to have only scrapes and bruises on his arm, and he walked away from the accident, Soria said.
He was rushed to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto, according to emergency responders, and later released.
The Tiger Lines semi-truck was driven by Ronald Birmingham of Merced, who reported no injuries.
A light green Nissan, also headed eastbound, swerved to avoid the crash and landed in a ditch just south of the road. No one in the car was hurt.
Everyone involved was wearing a seat belt.
Lal said it was unclear why Enriquez’s car drifted and suggested he might have been tired. He had a small amount of alcohol in his system, but not enough to cause the accident, Lal said. Patterson Fire Department crews were dispatched at 2:22 p.m., though the dispatcher initially gave firefighters the wrong location, division chief Jeff Gregory said.
Cars backed up about a quarter mile each way while Stanislaus County Sheriff’s deputies directed traffic.
Wednesday turned into a busy day for emergency crews. Patterson Fire Department also responded to a one-car crash at 6:14 p.m. on Interstate 5 near Sperry Avenue, leaving one person hurt. A 7:14 p.m. accident involving two cars at Magnolia and Sycamore avenues injured another person.
Both accident victims were taken by ambulance to area hospitals.
To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at
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