This was the cause of a major-injury pile up on a Merced County highway

A 55-year-old woman from Dos Palos suffered major injuries in a crash on Monday involving four vehicles in Merced County, California Highway Patrol reported.

A 45-year-old Merced man at around 10 a.m. was driving a gray Dodge pickup truck around north on Highway 59 near Rahilly Road, Officer Jeremy Carabajal said. Three cars were stopped in front of him, he said, waiting for another car to make a turn on Rahilly Road.

The pickup truck driver, who was going about 60 mph, didn't stop, Carabajal said, and he crashed into the women from Dos Palos who was driving a 2015 Honda CRV. She was transported to a hospital with major injuries.

In front of the Honda CRV, Carabajal said, was a 2017 Chevrolet driven by a 27-year-old woman from San Jose who wasn't transported to a hospital but complained of pain. And in front of her, he said, was a 60-year-old woman from Le Grange in a 2006 Honda van who also wasn't transported to a hospital and complained of pain.

The driver of the pickup truck lost control and traveled to the left side, Carabajal said, hitting all three vehicles until he landed in a drainage ditch.

Investigators said the driver of the pickup truck was not injured.

Alcohol was not a factor in the crash, according to Carabajal.

This story was originally published November 13, 2017 at 3:08 PM with the headline "This was the cause of a major-injury pile up on a Merced County highway."