Crash down dead-end embankment kills Modesto man

A 26-year-old Modesto resident was killed when the car he was driving crashed down the steep embankment of a dead-end road southwest of Modesto on Friday evening.

Sergio Ibarra was driving a 2001 Dodge SUV at a high rate of speed southbound on Stone Avenue, south of Paradise Road, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Google map images show a “Not a through road” sign on Stone at Paradise, and an “End” sign right before the avenue ends. But Ibarra failed to slow at the end of the road and continued south off the pavement and down the embankment, where he crashed and the Dodge overturned.

He was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected, coming to rest at the edge of a cornfield, just north of his SUV, the CHP said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. The crash was reported at about 7:20 p.m.

The CHP reported that alcohol is believed to be a contributing factor in the crash.

On Facebook, Tina Gonzales Leonguerrero posted that Ibarra was a co-worker of her husband’s and is survived his young children. “He was a good guy & worked very hard,” she wrote, linking to a gofundme.com page. “Anything for his family will help.”

This story was originally published July 23, 2018 at 12:43 PM.