One dead, five injured in crash east of Oakdale; DUI suspected

A man is dead and four others are hospitalized with major injuries after a suspected drunken driver swerved into oncoming traffic about 20 miles east of Oakdale on Tuesday morning.

The driver, a woman from Sunnyvale, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and driving under the influence.

Just before 10 a.m., the California Highway Patrol received a call from a witness who said a brown Mercedes was swerving all over the roadway on westbound Highway 120/108, said Officer Nick Norton.

Two minutes later, dispatchers were informed that the Mercedes had crossed into the eastbound lanes and sideswiped a Dodge Stratus just west of La Grange Road.

Norton said the Dodge rolled, landing on its roof on the south shoulder of the highway, while the Mercedes slid down the north shoulder, stopping when it hit a barbed-wire fence.

The driver of the Dodge died at the scene and two women and a man who were passengers in the car suffered major injuries. Two were airlifted to Valley hospitals and another was taken by ground ambulance.

The female passenger in the Mercedes also suffered major injuries and was airlifted to a Valley hospital, but the woman driving the Mercedes suffered minor injuries and was taken by ambulance to Sonora Regional Medical Center.

Norton said officers were with the Mercedes driver Tuesday afternoon, trying to determine if she was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Traffic backed up for miles in both directions when the highway was closed for an hour as patients were extracted from vehicles and the emergency helicopter landed nearby.

The names, ages and cities of residence of the people involved in the collision were not available Tuesday evening.

This story was originally published April 21, 2015 at 1:59 PM.