Body of Dos Palos driver found morning after crash in Merced County, CHP reports

The body of 31-year-old Dos Palos man was found Tuesday morning — several hours after he was involved in a vehicle crash Monday evening, California Highway Patrol reported.

Officers responded around 9:30 p.m. Monday, to a report of an overturned vehicle off the roadway along northbound Brannon Avenue, south of Valeria Avenue.

Authorities said the man was driving a 2002 Chevrolet Tahoe northbound on Brannon at at unknown rate of speed. For unknown reasons the driver lost control of the vehicle, causing it to leave the roadway, CHP said in a news release.

The vehicle traveled off the roadway onto the east gravel shoulder, where it impacted a dirt canal bank and overturned into an irrigation canal.

CHP said the driver was not located inside the vehicle. Officers and Merced County Fire personnel searched the scene of the crash for occupants, but were not able to locate anyone.

A little more than 12 hours later, at about 10 a.m. Tuesday the driver’s body was found in a field about 200 feet northeast of the crash site. He was pronounced dead at the scene as a result of injuries sustained in the crash.

According to Officer Shannon Stiers, the man is believed to have made it into the field under his own power, and it does not appear he was ejected from the vehicle. Stiers said the man reportedly left his house sometime around 8 p.m., and the exact time of the crash is unknown.

The driver’s name has not been released by law enforcement, pending notification of family or next-of-kin.

According to the CHP, neither drugs nor alcohol appear to be factors in the crash.