Stevinson woman, child killed in head-on crash in Merced County, CHP says
A woman and a young child were killed Saturday morning in a head-on collision on State Route 165 in Merced County, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The crash occurred about 11:05 a.m. on SR-165, south of Westside Boulevard in Hilmar, according to CHP Officer Eric Zuniga.
The Stevinson woman, 42, was driving a 2006 Kia Rio north on 165 at an unknown speed when she tried to make a right turn. The driver overcorrected to the left, the CHP stated, and collided with a 2016 Chevy Silverado going south on 165.
“She went off the right shoulder and lost control and traveled in the path of the truck,” Zuniga said. “(The driver of the truck) attempted to avoid the vehicle but was unable to do it and hit the right rear of the Kia.”
The driver of the Kia and a 9-year old girl riding with her weren’t wearing seat belts and were thrown from the car. They were pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the Chevy Silverado was a 32-year-old man from Modesto. There was also a 30-year old woman in the truck along with children ages 5, 10 and 11..
All five passengers in the truck were wearing restraints. They were taken to a Modesto-area hospital with minor injuries.
The names of the deceased are not being released at this time. It’s unknown what the relationship was between the woman and the child.
“May is ‘Click It or Ticket’ month and this is why we encourage people to wear seat belts,” Zuniga said. “Maybe if they were wearing seat belts, they may have survived the collision.”
State Route 165 was closed for about three hours, reopening at 2 p.m.
