Details emerge about circumstances of crash that killed Turlock basketball coach
New details have helped form a clearer picture as to what led up to the collision that killed a beloved Turlock High School basketball coach on Dec. 29. But what exactly happened remains murky.
Johnathan Williams, 48, succumbed to his injuries at a hospital after a rollover crash near Pitman High School. Williams was formerly the girls varsity basketball head coach for Turlock High and was an assistant coach of both the varsity boys and girls teams at the time of his death.
Williams was on his way to the Pitman Holiday Classic to serve as assistant coach for the Turlock High Bulldogs, who were scheduled to face the Hughson Huskies at 5 p.m.
At about 4 p.m., Williams was traveling east on West Christoffersen Parkway in a vehicle driven by his 18-year-old son. The vehicle was turning onto North Kilroy Road when it collided with another vehicle, driven by a 17-year-old student, that was going west on Christoffersen, according to the Turlock Police Department.
The collision caused the vehicle Williams was in to overturn and at some point caused a third vehicle to become involved.
Seven other people involved in the crash were treated for minor injuries, according to a Fire Department incident summary.
TPD investigators do not believe drugs or alcohol factored in the collision. However, investigators with the department’s Major Accident Investigation Team were working to download the data from the vehicle driven by the 17-year-old to see if speed was a factor.
“That is as much information as we can give right now, but we are hoping to release more information next week,” said Dominique Sanchez, spokeswoman for TPD.
After Williams’ death, there was an outpouring of support from the community. Turlock Unified School District provided counselors for students when they returned to school, a cash donation box was set up at the Holiday Hoop Classic, a Meal Train effort was created to send food to Williams’ family and a GoFundMe.com page, made to assist the family further, easily surpassed its $10,000 goal. By Thursday morning, it had raised over $63,000.
Police are still seeking information regarding the collision. Anyone who witnessed the collision or has video at the time of, or leading up to, the incident is asked to contact Officer Richard Fortado at 209-664-7399.
This story was originally published January 11, 2024 at 12:12 PM.
