Driver killed when he crashes into canal bridge pillar in Newman area
A Merced County man was killed early Saturday when he crashed into a concrete canal bridge pillar on Draper Road in the Newman area, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Emergency personnel found a white 2004 Chevrolet pickup against the pillar. The vehicle was partially in the canal and partially on the dirt embankment.
The driver, identified by the Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office as 61-year-old Gustine resident Jose De Jesus Gonzalez Mercado, was pinned in the driver’s seat and was dead when found, a CHP news release says.
The preliminary investigation indicates the driver was southbound on Draper Road south of Orestimba Road at high speed when he veered in a southeasterly direction and struck the pillar.
It is undetermined if alcohol or drugs factored in the crash, the release says.
The driver was not wearing his seat belt, it says, but that was not a factor in his injuries.
This story was originally published April 24, 2023 at 8:22 AM.
