Update: Kern County man dies in big-rig crash near Walnut Grove
The collision of two big rigs Tuesday on southbound Interstate 5 near Walnut Grove resulted in one death, according to the California Highway Patrol. The crash reportedly occurred just before noon.
A 77-year-old man from Lamont in Kern County was driving a 2009 Freightliner southbound north of Walnut Grove Road in the No. 2 lane. It was to the left of a 2010 Freightliner driven by 60-year-old Ray Alan Butler of Creswell, Ore., when the two vehicles collided, according to a CHP news release.
The 2009 Freightliner traveled off the road and overturned, fatally injuring the driver and causing minor injuries to a passenger, identified by the CHP as Manuela Lopez, 70, of Lamont. She was taken to Kaiser South Medical Center. The name of the fatally injured driver was not released.
Butler, who was not injured, pulled to the right shoulder of the Walnut Grove Road offramp.
Neither alcohol nor drugs were believed to have been factors in the collision, according to the CHP.
The Cosumnes Fire Department responded to the scene to assist the Walnut Grove Fire District.
Cosumnes Fire assisting Walnut Grove Fire w/ a big rig rollover SB I-5 @ Walnut Grove-Thornton Rd. 1 fatality 1- moderate injury.
— Cosumnes Fire Dept. (@CosumnesFire) January 26, 2016This story was originally published January 26, 2016 at 2:05 PM with the headline "Update: Kern County man dies in big-rig crash near Walnut Grove."