Driver Arrested on DUI Suspicion After Magnolia Crash
Passenger suffered major injuries when Audi struck a roadside tree.
2 min read
Updated
A photo of the crashed vehicle shared by CAL FIRE NEU.
GRASS VALLEY — A 27-year-old Auburn man was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI causing injury after the Audi he was driving struck a tree Thursday evening on Magnolia Road, seriously injuring his passenger, according to Grass Valley CHP Public Information Officer Sean Armacher. The right-front passenger, 63-year-old Michelle Anne Dunbar of Auburn, sustained major injuries and was flown to Sutter Roseville Medical Center.
CHP identified the driver as Tucker Jurocko Dunbar. He sustained minor injuries, was taken to Sierra Nevada Memorial Hospital, medically cleared, and booked into the Wayne Brown Correctional Facility, Armacher said.
A photo of the rear of the vehicle. Credit: CAL FIRE NEU.
The crash occurred at approximately 7:40 PM as Dunbar drove a black 2022 Audi SQ8 west on Magnolia Road toward Highway 49, east of Normandy Lane, according to Armacher. CHP said the Audi was traveling at a high rate of speed when it left the north side of the roadway and struck a tree head-on. The Audi caught fire, and the flames spread to the tree and roadside vegetation.
CAL FIRE NEU said CALSTAR transported Michelle Anne Dunbar by air ambulance, while Sierra Nevada Ambulance took Tucker by ground ambulance. Firefighters from CAL FIRE NEU and the Higgins Fire Protection District quickly extinguished the small spot fire. CHP closed the roadway during its investigation and later reported it had reopened.
The Adamson Drive intersection is also at one end of a roadway segment previously flagged in county safety planning. Nevada County’s 2019 Local Road Safety Plan, using collision records from 2015 through 2017, listed Magnolia Road from Spring Ranches Road to Adamson Drive among the five road segments with the county’s highest concentrations of collisions. While the 2025 Road Safety Plan no longer lists the segment as one of the county’s most dangerous, it is still identified as a target for speed-monitoring trailers.
Editor’s note: This article was updated July 20 with information from Grass Valley CHP identifying the driver and passenger and reporting the driver’s arrest. Additional details about their injuries, hospital destinations, and the circumstances of the crash were also added.