Staff Reporter

A two-car collision Wednesday night in the 400 block of College Avenue sent two DeKalb residents to the hospital.

Mary Houghtby, 58, was driving east on College Avenue when, according to police, her vehicle crossed the center line about 5:01 p.m. and struck a car driven by Margot Spaeth, 21. Houghtby’s vehicle flipped upon impact and landed on its passenger side.

Houghtby was trapped in her white Honda Civic for about 20 minutes while DeKalb firefighters used the jaws of life to cut open the roof. She was in stable condition Wednesday night at Kishwaukee Community Hospital.

Spaeth was treated and released. Neither she nor Houghtby had passengers.

“There currently is no indication that Houghtby was traveling at high speeds,” DeKalb police Sgt. Gary Spangler said. “If you hit a car in the right spot, it will turn over no matter how fast you are going.”

Spangler added that no alcohol was involved and that Houghtby may have blacked out. Her vehicle has been declared a complete loss, while Spaeth’s vehicle sustained an unknown amount of damage to the left front panel.

No tickets have been issued.

Abbie Bass, who lives on College Avenue and teaches Spanish at Shabbona High School, said the neighborhood is very crash-prone.

“I have lived in this neighborhood for a long time, and there have always been problems with accidents,” she said. “I would like to see the city do something about it. People drive too fast. There needs to be stop signs or something.”