Driver dies after head-on crash on Highway 4 in northern Stanislaus County

Two people suffered major injuries in a head-on crash on Highway 4 in northernmost Stanislaus County early Monday. One of them later died at a hospital.

The crash occurred about 4:40 a.m. near Dunton Road, according to the Stanislaus County Fire Protection District. Battalion Chief Eric DeHart said it appears a 2018 Subaru Outback driven by a 61-year-old woman was heading west on the highway. An eastbound 2016 Chevrolet Sonic driven by a 26-year-old man may have veered into her lane and struck her, DeHart said, citing a witness statement.

Responders found the man still in his vehicle, but not pinned in, DeHart said. He was semi-alert and quickly was pulled from the Chevy and loaded onto a helicopter. The man, a Copperopolis resident, was flown to Memorial Medical Center, where he died in the emergency room at 7:30 a.m.

The Outback driver’s lower extremities were trapped within the vehicle, DeHart said, estimating it took 40 minutes to extract her.

She was conscious and alert the whole time, the battalion chief said, but because it took so long to free her, she also was airlifted.

The CHP said the woman, Susan Lynn Hooper of Sonora, suffered major injuries to her chest and left leg. She was taken to Doctors Medical Center.

It has yet to be determined if alcohol or drugs factored in the crash, the CHP reported.

This story was originally published May 6, 2019 at 10:22 AM.