Passenger killed in Newman-area crash identified as 21-year-old Modesto woman, Beyer grad
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The passenger who died in a crash near Newman on Friday has been identified by the Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office as a 21-year-old Modesto woman.
Holly Mahnke was the passenger in a Toyota driven by Rachel Norton, 22 of Riverbank, on Eastin Road at West Stuhr Road.
According to the California Highway Patrol, Norton was southbound when she stopped at a stop sign on Eastin before proceeding into the intersection, where the vehicle was hit by an eastbound big rig. Stuhr does not have a stop sign at that intersection.
Mahnke died at the scene and Norton was taken by helicopter to Doctors Medical Center with major injuries.
Mahnke was a 2018 graduate of Beyer High School, where she was in leadership and cheer. Social media posts show she had graduated from California State University, Chico, in May.
A Facebook post by a friend, Peter Kennedy, said, “You were the light in everyone’s life. There isn’t a person on this earth that you met that you didn’t leave a long lasting impression on. Your smile and laugh were infectious and you were always able to light up any room you walked into.”
The driver of the big rig was not injured.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation.
This story was originally published July 18, 2022 at 12:42 PM.
