1 juvenile dies, 2 others sent to hospital in Merced County rollover crash, CHP reports
Three juveniles from Kern County were in a deadly crash Saturday morning in northern Merced County, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP incident page online says the crash occurred about 9:54 a.m. at Turlock and Looney roads, northeast of Ballico.
CHP Merced area spokesman Officer Eric Zuniga said by text Sunday morning that the driver, a 17-year-old male from McFarland, was driving a 2002 Toyota east on Turlock Road at about 55 mph. For undetermined reasons, he drifted into the westbound lane and onto the north shoulder, then overcorrected to the right, causing the vehicle to overturn several times.
Citing authorities, Fresno TV station Fox26 reported the driver was not wearing a seat belt and suffered fatal injuries. “The front passenger was said to be wearing a seat belt and suffered minor injuries,” it reports, and “the back passenger seemed uninjured but was taken to a hospital as a precaution.”
Zuniga said one passenger is from McFarland, the other from Delano, and both are 16.
The name of the driver is being withheld pending notification of family.
Fox26 reported that alcohol and drugs do not appear to be factors in the crash.
This story was originally published July 4, 2021 at 9:44 AM.
