Man killed in traffic collision near Empire

A two-car collision on Yosemite Boulevard early Saturday evening left one man dead.

California Highway Patrol officers were called around 5 p.m. to a report of a crash between a pickup truck and a Mitsubishi sedan just west of Codoni Road near Empire. Officers arrived on the scene to find the driver and passenger of the Mitsubishi still pinned in the vehicle.

CHP Officer Charles Wilson said the Mitsubishi was headed eastbound on Yosemite Boulevard while the pickup was going westbound. Wilson said for an unknown reason the driver of the Mitsubishi lost control and traveled into the westbound lanes, where the car was broadsided by the pickup. Fire crews used the jaws of life to extract the male driver, who was transported with major injuries to Doctors Medical Center.

His male passenger was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the pickup was not hurt or transported.

Wilson said the cause of the accident was unknown, and the identities of those involved have not been released. Road conditions were slick, with a light drizzle falling.

This story was originally published January 7, 2017 at 7:02 PM with the headline "Man killed in traffic collision near Empire."