California Highway Patrol reports third fatal Stanislaus County crash in two days
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A Merced County man was killed Saturday evening in the third fatal Stanislaus County crash in two days.
The single-vehicle crash was about 6 p.m. on North Washington Road, north of Taylor Road, just west of Turlock, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The driver of a northbound 2003 Chevrolet Avalanche, Eric Duane Vaughn of Stevinson, was ejected as the pickup overturned. The 46-year-old was found by emergency medical personnel on the west shoulder of the road, near an orchard, a CHP news release says. Lifesaving measures were performed, but he died at the scene.
The preliminary investigation indicates Vaughn, who was not wearing his seat belt, allowed his vehicle to veer to the left. It went off the road, where it struck two trees and overturned.
It has not been determined if alcohol and/or drugs factored in the crash, the release states, but it notes that every day in the U.S., almost 30 people die in DUI-related traffic collisions. “That is one person every 50 minutes, claiming more than 10,000 lives per year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration statistics from 2018,” it says.
CHP Modesto area spokesman Officer Tom Olsen added that California has about a 97% compliance rating regarding seat belt use. “Unfortunately, the remaining 3% make up nearly 50% of the fatalities we investigate,” he told The Modesto Bee in an email Sunday. “It is imperative that all motorists and passengers wear their seat belts each and every time.”
Saturday’s incident followed two fatal crashes Friday.
In the first, an Oregon woman died and a girl was injured when their Toyota Prius went off southbound Interstate 5 just north of the State Route 140 exit and overturned multiple times. That crash was about 1:30 p.m. The girl, about 10 years old, was airlifted to Valley Children’s Hospital, Olsen said. She had no visible injuries but was in and out of consciousness.
Less than two hours later, about 3:20 p.m., an 18-year-old Stockton woman and a 20-year-old Oakdale woman crashed when the teen driver lost control of an SUV and drove into a pond east of Oakdale.
The crash was on Orange Blossom Road, east of Bonson Court. The Nissan SUV was partially submerged in a pond south of the roadway.
The Oakdale woman, who was the front-seat passenger, was taken to Memorial Medical Center with minor injuries. The Stockton woman was airlifted to Stockton Doctors Medical Center, where she later died.
