Big rig crosses I-5, kills man in crash involving gas spill in Merced County

A 24-year-old Hanford man was killed after a big rig crossed the Interstate 5 median and collided head-on with the vehicle he was in early Wednesday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The Merced County Coroner’s Office on Thursday identified the man as Jamee Chargualaf.

A 2014 Volvo semi-truck trailer being driven by a 54-year-old Sun City man was traveling north at 12:35 a.m. in the right lane of I-5, a mile south of Highway 140, when for undetermined reasons it crossed over the center median and entered the southbound lanes of the highway, according to a CHP Los Banos news release.

The big rig first sideswiped a 2013 Peterbilt semi-truck that was towing a tanker filled with 8,600 gallons of gasoline, the release states. The tanker overturned on the right shoulder of I-5, spilling an undetermined amount of gas.

The big rig then collided head-on with a 2004 Lexus ES330, according to the release. The 24-year-old Lemoore man driving the Lexus and another 21-year-old Lemoore man in the vehicle suffered minor injuries. The 21-year-old Lemoore man wasn’t wearing a seat belt.

According to authorities, Chargualaf, who was a passenger in the Lexus and was wearing a seat belt, suffered major injuries and died at the scene.

The Sun City driver of the big rig suffered minor injuries in the vehicle, while the 47-year-old Sacramento man hauling the oil tanker didn’t report injuries.

The southbound lanes of I-5 were closed due to cleanup of the oil spill, the release states, and are expected to open back up in the afternoon.

Caltrans set up detours through Highway 140 and Highway 33 back to southbound I-5.

This story was originally published January 8, 2020 at 9:25 AM.