Fatal crash discovered early Monday on Highway 132 west of Modesto
The man found dead Monday morning from a crash on Maze Boulevard/Highway 132 west of Modesto has been identified by the California Highway Patrol only as a 38-year-old Merced resident.
His name has been withheld by the Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office until it can locate and inform family, which has proven difficult.
According to Officer William Splettstoesser at the scene, investigators do not know what time the crash occurred because there are no known witnesses.
But the 2001 Ford Expedition that went off the road and struck an oak tree is a higher-profile vehicle, so it was visible from the roadway after the sun came up, he said. A passerby who saw the Expedition called in the crash in the 8 a.m. hour.
Responding officers found that the vehicle was cold, so the incident had occurred some time before it was discovered.
The preliminary investigation indicates the Expedition was eastbound on a slight curve in the roadway west of the Old Fishermen’s Club along the San Joaquin River.
It likely was traveling at a high rate of speed, Splettstoesser said. “We could tell looking at the gravel shoulder,” he said. “It does dip off, but they ... were airborne when they hit the tree.”
That’s indicated by how high the tree damage is where the Expedition struck it. The adult male driver was the only occupant in the vehicle and was dead when emergency personnel got to the scene.
Authorities have not yet positively identified the man. There were two sources of identification in the vehicle, one of them a passport, so they are not sure which if either person it is.
Nothing in the vehicle obviously indicates alcohol may have been involved, but that will be determined by the investigation, Splettstoesser said.
This story was originally published November 1, 2021 at 11:36 AM.
