Separate crashes in same area lead to hospitalization of six people

Six people were hospitalized after two collisions in the same area of state Highway 17 in Los Gatos early Thursday morning, according to the Santa Clara County Fire Department.

The California Highway Patrol said two separate collisions occurred around 1 a.m. on northbound Highway 17 near Lark Avenue and state Highway 85.

Fire crews arrived to see a vehicle on fire with the driver lying in the roadway after a head-on collision with another vehicle that had been carrying four people. A second collision involving a motorcyclist also occurred in the area, with the motorcyclist down in the roadway, fire officials said.

Crews extinguished the vehicle fire and took the six injured people to hospitals. Two victims had life-threatening injuries, while the other four are expected to survive, according to the fire department.

The collisions prompted the closure of the highway until about 3 a.m., according to the CHP.