Wreck near Los Banos kills Modesto man, injures three

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LOS BANOS -- A driver passing another car on Lander Avenue north of town Saturday evening failed to see an oncoming car, investigators said. The vehicles collided head-on, killing the front-seat passenger in the second car and causing major injuries for another passenger and both drivers. All of the injured and the passenger who died were Modesto residents.

According to the California Highway Patrol, Alberto Villanueva, 23, was driving a 1991 Ford Taurus southbound on Lander, also known as Highway 165, at about 75 mph about 5:20 p.m. when he drove into the northbound lane to pass another car. Sada Koshaba Sada, 51, was driving northbound with two passengers in a 1999 Nissan Maxima.

The cars collided just north of Wolfsen Road. Both drivers were trapped in the wreckage and had to be extricated. The right-side passenger in Sada's car, a 55-year-old man, died at the scene, according to the CHP report. The passenger's name was being withheld pending notification of family.

Villanueva and Sada were taken to Modesto hospitals with major injuries, according to the CHP. A second passenger in Sada's car, Sami Odisho, 44, was flown to Memorial Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition Sunday evening.