CHP: Crash kills Ceres man, young passenger. Other driver faces DUI, manslaughter charges

A 41-year-old driver from Ceres and his young passenger died in a collision with a suspected drunk driver, the California Highway Patrol reported.

Officers were dispatched at about 12:20 a.m. Saturday, March 22, to Highway 165 about two miles south of Hilmar in Merced County, a news release said.

Melissa Rosales, 20, of Los Banos was driving a southbound BMW sport utility vehicle that collided with a northbound Honda Accord driven by the Ceres man, the CHP said. Neither he nor his male passenger were identified. Both died at the scene.

The release said Rosales was impaired by alcohol and driving at a high speed when the collision happened. She was taken by air ambulance to a Modesto hospital with major injuries and will face felony charges of DUI and vehicular manslaughter, the CHP said.

The vehicles collided on a curve with double yellow lines, the release said. People with information about the crash can contact Investigating Officer Rolando Flores at 209-356-6600.

John Holland

The Modesto Bee

209-578-2385

John Holland covers agriculture, transportation and general assignment news. He has been with The Modesto Bee since 2000 and previously worked at newspapers in Sonora and Visalia. He was born and raised in San Francisco and has a journalism degree from UC Berkeley.