Names released in fatal DUI crash east of Oakdale

The California Highway Patrol on Wednesday released the names of a suspected drugged driver, the man killed when her car careened into his, and the four others seriously injured in a crash east of Oakdale on Tuesday.

Brenda Barrera, 24, and her passenger, Thacia Godinez, 21, both of Sunnyvale, were traveling west on Highway 120/108 near La Grange Road in a Mercedes-Benz when, according to a witness who called the California Highway Patrol, it began swerving all over the roadway.

Just before 10 a.m., the Mercedes veered into oncoming traffic, its left front side colliding with the left front of a Chevrolet, according to California Highway Patrol officer Nick Norton.

The Mercedes continued out of control off the north roadway edge into a field, while the Chevrolet spun and overturned, coming to rest on its roof on the south shoulder of the highway.

Manteca resident Steve Millanes was traveling west on the highway when he came upon the crash seconds after it happened.

He said he and a group of other people rushed to help the people in the Chevrolet. A man smashed a window so he could reach the ignition to turn off the car. A hospice nurse who witnessed the crash checked the pulse of the driver and determined he had died.

The passengers in the Chevrolet got out, but the deceased driver, 78-year-old Maxsimiano Aldana of Escalon, was trapped inside, so emergency crews used tools to remove the door to get him out, Norton said.

Aldana’s wife, 69-year-old Martha Aldana, suffered major injuries and was taken by ambulance to Memorial Medical Center.

The other two passengers, Vincente Cabrera, 85, and Sara Cabrera, 80, both of Riverbank, also suffered major injuries and were taken by helicopters to Doctors Medical Center and Memorial Medical Center, respectively.

A third emergency helicopter was dispatched to the scene to take Godinez to Doctors Medical Center for major injuries.

Barrera was treated for minor injuries at Sonora Regional Medical Center.

The investigating officer noticed in Barrera signs of intoxication from drugs and arrested her on suspicion of felony driving under the influence and vehicular manslaughter, Norton said.

Millanes said the hospice nurse who checked the pulse of Maxsimiano Aldana witnessed the crash and recorded video of the Mercedes swerving across the roadway, which she gave to the CHP. “You can see it go to the right side, then across the median,” he said.

Millanes, who is a pharmaceutical salesman, said he and the others had to remain at the scene for about an hour until the highway reopened.

After that, he clocked out. “I needed to go home and give some hugs and kisses to the loved ones.”

This story was originally published April 22, 2015 at 1:55 PM.