VERNALIS – A 26 year old Ceres man and a baby just shy of a year old both lost their lives in a collision on Highway 132 Saturday afternoon.
The crash happened a few minutes before 1:00pm on Highway 132 east of River Road. CHP officers, firefighters, and medical personnel responded to the crash.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the Ceres man was driving eastbound in a Honda sedan when for unknown reasons he turned to the left, crossing over double yellow lines and sideswiping a Honda CRV. The sedan continued eastbound in the opposite lane where it struck a Toyota sedan head on. Officials at the scene noted gouge marks in the road, indicating the collision had occurred in the opposite lane.
The impact killed the driver of the Toyota at the scene. Two adults in the Toyota suffered injuries and were taken to memorial medical center by ambulance. The baby girl was airlifted from nearby Fisherman’s Club by helicopter to UC Davis Medical Center with major injuries, but unfortunately died Monday.
The child was in a safety seat, but not a rear facing one.
A second collision involving two other vehicles quickly occurred when a van had to quickly apply brakes to avoid the first collision. A Honda close behind rear-ended the van. Everyone in those vehicles were uninjured.
Highway 132 remained closed in both directions for a little more than two hours while officials investigated and cleared the road.
Carlos Rodriguez is an Emmy Award winning photojournalist specializing in public safety and natural disasters. His passion for local news stems from a deep commitment to his community, with a selfless mission to inform the citizens of the valley. As he worked on assignment for 19 days at the devastating Camp Fire in Paradise, California, he spent most of his time helping survivors contact their loved ones to let them know they were ok. Carlos is a veteran of Univision, FOX, and Telemundo TV stations and a native of Modesto, California.
MODESTO – A driver found behind the wheel of a pickup truck that was identified as stolen was detained by police Sunday afternoon.
At about 3:00pm an officer with the Modesto Police Department located the vehicle near Central Modesto. The pickup truck traveled south on Sunrise Avenue before turning onto East Roseburg. There, the truck came to a stop at the dead end of East Roseburg Avenue where officers initiated a traffic stop.
Additional officers responded to assist, and the driver surrendered without incident.
At time of publication there was no information available as to where the truck was stolen from.
EMPIRE – Two people were taken to a hospital, and a third was treated by paramedics after a shooting incident late Saturday night.
Deputies with the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office responded to the area of Cameron Way in Empire for the report of a shooting incident. As deputies arrived, they located two victims with injuries. Those two individuals were taken by ambulance to a hospital for treatment.
A third ambulance was called to the scene for another victim, but it appeared that person was treated by medical personnel and released at the scene.
Deputies examined the area for evidence. A crime scene technician took photographs at the scene.
There was no information regarding a suspect, or suspects at time of publication.
Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to contact the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office or Crime Stoppers at (209) 521-4636 where callers can remain anonymous.
MODESTO – A motorcyclist was rushed to a hospital by ambulance Saturday night after a collision on the highway.
The crash happened shortly before 11:00pm on the southbound lanes of Highway 99 just south of the Briggsmore overpass. The collision appeared to have happened in the fast lane.
By 11:30 a tow truck was on scene removing the motorcycle. The extent of injuries was unclear at publication time, and the circumstances surrounding the crash were not yet available.