Man pruning tree at Newman home killed when driver swerves to avoid hitting cat
A man pruning trees at a home west of Newman died Friday morning after a motorist from Gustine swerved to avoid hitting a cat and the vehicle went off the road and hit the tree where he was working.
The crash happened at about 7:45 a.m. on Eastin Road just south of Shiells Road, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Ming Hsu.
He said Francis Coronado, 33, was traveling at about 65 mph north on Eastin in a GMC Yukon with his two children in the backseat when the cat ran out of an orchard and into his path.
Coronado swerved to the left to avoid hitting the cat and continued in a northwesterly direction toward the home where 48-year-old Cornelio Cornejo of Los Banos was on a ladder pruning a tree.
Hsu said Cornejo was working with his family members who’d been hired to trim the trees at the home.
The Yukon went up a raised berm surrounding the property and became airborne, flying several feet above a 4-foot fence and hitting the tree Cornejo was pruning.
“The tree broke apart from the impact and knocked Mr. Cornejo, who was on the other side of the tree, off the top of the ladder,” Hsu said.
He said investigators are trying to determine if the Yukon hit Cornejo or if he was knocked off the ladder as a result of the crash.
First responders began CPR on Cornejo and a medical helicopter was dispatched to the scene. Cornejo was taken by ambulance to the helicopter landing zone on Shiells Road, where he was pronounced dead. His father-in-law, who was holding the ladder, was not hurt
Coronado suffered minor injuries. His 5-year-old child suffered a cut lip and his 7-year-old was not injured. Both children were properly restrained in car seats, Hsu said.
This story was originally published October 25, 2019 at 1:59 PM.
