Elk Grove man, 21, dead in Merced County head-on collision; 4 passengers hurt
A 21-year-old Elk Grove man was killed and his four passengers were seriously injured in a wrong-way head-on collision early Monday in Merced County, the California Highway Patrol said.
The fatal wreck happened at 2:12 a.m. on southbound Highway 99 near Hammett Avenue in Livingston, about 100 miles south of Sacramento, said Officer Eric Zuniga, a spokesman at the CHP’s Merced office.
The driver was traveling north in the fast lane of southbound Highway 99 when his car collided with a car driven by a 41-year-old San Bernardino man. The force of the collision sent the Elk Grove man’s car into the path of an oncoming tractor-trailer. The big rig’s driver could not stop in time to avoid the fatal crash, Zuniga said.
CHP officials in Merced are awaiting notification of next of kin by Merced County coroner’s officials before releasing the Elk Grove motorist’s name.
Four passengers, ranging in age from 18 to 21, are now in Livingston-area hospitals with moderate to major injuries. The driver of the tractor-trailer and the San Bernardino man were not hurt in the crash, Zuniga said.
It was unknown why the car was traveling in the opposite lane. It was not known if alcohol factored in the collision, Zuniga said.
.JPG)