The danger lurking along a country road in central California’s wine country was not clear to Lindsy Doan as she drove her five-year-old son to school on Monday morning.
The region, like much of the state, had been hit by a deadly series of storms but the family had traveled through the area the previous day, her husband told the Guardian, and countless times before on their commutes. Nothing initially appeared wrong and unlike past occasions, there were no signs indicating the road was closed.