Robb Report’s 2018 Car of the Year event in Napa Valley did not go as planned, with multiple reports indicating that at least three company officials were among those seriously injured in a head-on collision.
According to the Napa Valley Register, a total of five people were hospitalized after a 2018 Ford (believed to be a Mustang Bullitt) traveling westbound on Highway 128 collided with a 2014 Honda in the eastbound lane.
The driver of the Ford, 43-year old Christina Cheever and her passengers, 52-year old Darin Greenblatt and 41-year old Ashley Chung, were all transported to Queen of the Valley Medical Center after the accident, along with 42-year old Phillip Benson, a passenger in the Honda – its driver, 41-year old Taryn Benson was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital.
Judging by their Linkedin profiles, Cheever, Greenblatt and Chung are all associated with Robb Report. Greenblatt is the magazine’s director of live media events, while Cheever is senior VP at Penske Media Corp, which owns Robb Report. As for Chung, she was identified by TheFastLaneCar as a Korean Air representative, which is one of the sponsors for the magazine’s 2018 Car of the Year event.
“Ms. Cheever suffered serious head injuries in the head-on collision and was airlifted to the hospital. She is now conscious, and while in serious condition is expected to make a recovery. Darin Greenblatt, a fellow Robb Report staffer, suffered neck injuries as well as serious internal injuries from his seatbelt but is expected to make a full recovery,” as reported by Jalopnik.
Meanwhile, a Ferrari 812 Superfast was also crashed at a vineyard in Napa Valley, as one Frederick Bayles posted an image of the vehicle on his Instagram page – it has since been removed. Judging by its improvised license plate, the Ferrari was taking part in Robb Report’s COTY event, although there weren’t reports of any injuries.
A Robb Report spokesperson told TLFC that the incident involving the injured parties occurred on a “non-driving day” and was not part of the event’s official schedule, nor was it part of the magazine’s COTY evaluation.
