Driver badly hurt in crash while racing on Highway 99 in north Modesto
One driver was arrested and another hospitalized with major injuries after a car race on Highway 99 in Modesto on Sunday afternoon ended with a crash.
Drivers of a Chevrolet Corvette and a Ford Mustang were racing north on the highway, north of Standiford Avenue, at about 1 p.m. when the Corvette driver lost control and went off the right shoulder, the California Highway Patrol reported.
The car overturned several times before coming to rest on Sisk Road north of Vintage Drive. The driver, 26-year-old Tyler Azadzoi of Citrus Heights, was thrown from the Corvette as it rolled. He suffered major injuries and was taken to a hospital for treatment, according to a CHP news release.
Azadzoi’s passenger, 28-year-old Ayesha Malik of Richmond, suffered minor injuries.
The driver of the Mustang, identified as Raul Torres Jr., 22, continued north to his Manteca residence, where he was located and arrested by the CHP. The Mustang was impounded.
The preliminary investigation indicates both vehicles were speeding in excess of 100 mph. As Azadzoi approached slower-moving traffic, he veered to the left, into the dirt and gravel center median, where he lost control. The Corvette then veered across all northbound lanes of the highway, onto the right shoulder and into a chain link fence. It overturned multiple times onto Sisk Road, where it came to rest.
Torres briefly stopped at the scene but then fled, prior to CHP arrival, the news release says.
The investigation identified him, and he was arrested on suspicion of reckless driving proximately causing bodily injury (a felony), speed contest causing injury (felony), reckless driving (misdemeanor), engaging in a speed contest (misdemeanor) and driving unlicensed (misdemeanor).
Azadzoi was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the collision. “The CHP would like to remind all motorists that seat belts, when worn properly, have the ability to save your life when involved in a traffic collision,” the news release says.
This story was originally published August 10, 2025 at 10:00 PM.
