Man, woman killed in head-on crash in north Stanislaus County on Monday morning
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A Stockton woman and a Copperopolis man were killed in a head-on crash Monday morning in north Stanislaus County.
The collision occurred about 6:40 a.m. on Highway 4 just west of Dunton Road, according to a California Highway Patrol news release.
The preliminary investigation indicates the 21-year-old woman, driving a 2010 Honda sedan, was heading east and approaching a left bend in the roadway when she tried to pass a slower-moving vehicle ahead of her, Officer Tom Olsen told The Bee.
She crossed a double yellow line, which is illegal, and the bend limited her visibility, Olsen said. She didn’t see an on coming 2004 Toyota pickup truck until it was too late.
Both she and the 51-year-old pickup driver turned the same direction, toward the north shoulder, and collided. The drivers, alone in their vehicles, were pronounced dead at the scene. Their names are being withheld pending notification of family.
The vehicle the Stockton driver was passing was not involved in the crash.
The woman was not wearing her seatbelt, but the man was. “The CHP would like to remind all motorists that seatbelts, when worn properly, have the ability to save your life when involved in a traffic collision,” the news release says.
Olsen said this is the eighth fatal crash of 2023 that the Modesto CHP office has investigated, and half involved at least one driver not wearing a seatbelt.
