Ceres man dead, Modesto woman badly hurt in collision

A driver ran a stop sign in Ceres on Saturday afternoon, causing a collision that killed him and badly injured a 78-year-old Modesto woman, police reported.

The crash happened shortly before 5:30 p.m. at Ustick and Service roads. Ceres resident Rigoberto Alvarez, 29, was driving a 2003 Honda Civic south on Ustick when he ran the stop sign at Service, Ceres police said in a news release.

Faye Beard was driving a 2005 Kia Sportage west on Service when the Civic entered her path. Her vehicle struck the driver side of the Civic, and both cars came to rest on the shoulder of Service Road west of Ustick.

Alvarez was pronounced dead at the scene. Beard suffered major injuries and was taken to a hospital.

The Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office will conduct an investigation and autopsy of Alvarez to determine cause of death. Police said there was no indication drugs or alcohol was a factor in the crash.

The Ceres Police Department Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team is investigating the collision. Witnesses or those with information on the crash are asked to call Officer Jerry Kessler at 209-538-5620.

This story was originally published October 15, 2018 at 10:34 AM.