Update: One killed, one seriously injured in crash east of Turlock
A Modesto man was killed and another man suffered major injuries in a head-on crash Thursday morning on Santa Fe Avenue south of Denair.
The crash occurred at 6:30 a.m. about a half-mile south of Monte Vista Avenue when a 63-year-old driver of a Subaru SUV traveling north tried to pass the vehicle in front of him, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Tom Olsen.
The Subaru collided head-on with a Toyota sedan traveling south; the force pushed it backward. A Nissan SUV behind the Toyota rear-ended it, Olsen said.
The 63-year-old driver of the Subaru was taken to Emanuel Medical Center, where he died.
The driver of the Toyota suffered major leg injuries and was taken to Doctors Medical Center. The driver of the Nissan, a 48-year-old Modesto resident, was not injured, and there were no passengers in any of the vehicles.
The names of the Toyota and Subaru drivers were not immediately available.
Olsen said the crash occurred in a legal passing zone.
He said the sun wasn’t a factor, it was off to the east, and the road was straight with no elevation change. “The visibility is clear; you can see for a mile or two,” Olsen said.
It is unknown if drugs or alcohol were factors in the collision.
This story was originally published September 16, 2021 at 8:20 AM.
