Two dead, 2-year-old injured in head-on crash between 2 vehicles in south Sacramento

Two people were killed and a 2-year-old girl was seriously injured in a head-on crash on Dillard Road in south Sacramento County on Tuesday night.

A 27-year-old male driver of a 2017 Nissan Rogue was driving erratically around 9:30 p.m. while traveling westbound on Dillard Road near Highway 99, several witnesses reported. Officer Mark Leavitt, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol’s South Sacramento office, said alcohol may have been involved.

The Rogue driver approached a 2016 Nissan Altima traveling eastbound and made an unsafe turning movement to the left into the Altima’s lane, according to Leavitt. The Altima driver turned to the left to avoid a crash just as the Rogue driver corrected back to the right, and a head-on crash occurred, Leavitt said.

Both drivers suffered major injuries and died at the scene, CHP officials said. A 2-year-old girl in the Altima was transported to a local hospital with major injuries, according to a CHP news release.

The Altima driver, identified by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office as Ashley Nichole Godinez, 37, of Wilton, was traveling with her 2-year-old child, and an investigation revealed that she was likely wearing her seat belt and her child was properly restrained in a child safety seat, according to Leavitt.

Leavitt said the male victim, described in the news release as a Ukiah resident, was likely not wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash.

The adult victims’ identities will be released by the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office pending notification of family.

This story was originally published June 21, 2023 at 11:32 AM.