Woman killed in rollover collision northeast of Los Banos, CHP says

A woman is dead following a collision northeast of Los Banos on Thursday, accordion to authorities.

At about 9:30 a.m. officers responded to the scene of a solo-vehicle rollover collision on Turner Island Road in Merced County, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Shannon Stiers.

The driver of the vehicle, a 62-year-old woman from Los Banos who’s name was withheld pending notification of family, appeared to be traveling northbound on Turner Island Road at an unknown speed about a mile north of Henry Miller Avenue in a 2005 Honda Accord when the collision occurred, according to the CHP.

According to Stiers, a witness reported seeing the vehicle spinning out of control onto the west dirt shoulder of the road. The driver’s side of the vehicle impacted a power pole and overturned onto its roof along a canal bank.

The collision knocked down the power pole, resulting in down power lines that landed on the vehicle. Due to the down power lines, arriving officers were not able to gain access to the vehicle for about 10 to 15 minutes as PG&E personnel worked to stop electricity to the lines, according to Stiers.

Authorities said the driver was wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision and pronounced dead at the scene.

Stiers said at this time it is unknown what caused the collision which remains under investigation.

According to the PG&E online power outage map, about 39 customers were without power in the area of the crash as of 12:15 p.m. Thursday.

This story was originally published May 13, 2021 at 11:45 AM.