Head-on collision kills two northwest of Los Banos

One of two vehicles involved in a head-on collision that claimed the lives of both drivers Monday morning likely was traveling at a high rate of speed, authorities said.

A 32-year-old man from Los Banos and a 54-year-old woman from Newman were pronounced dead at the scene, California Highway Patrol Officer Lance Velez said. The names of the deceased were not immediately released.

Velez said the Los Banos man was driving a 1993 Nissan at an unknown high speed northbound on Ingomar Grade road near the Ingomar Packing Plant at approximately 7 a.m.

The driver apparently lost control while negotiating a curve in the road and veered into the southbound lane, hitting a 2012 Ford driven by the Newman woman, Velez said.

There were no other passengers in the vehicles.

The crash closed Ingomar Grade between Husman and Fahey roads for more than three hours, Velez said.

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 10:54 AM with the headline "Head-on collision kills two northwest of Los Banos."