Driver killed in head-on collision with big rig on Highway 33 near Firebaugh, CHP says

A driver is dead following a head-on collision north of Firebaugh on Monday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

At about 3:20 a.m., Los Banos area CHP officers responded to the scene of a two-vehicle collision involving a sedan and a big rig in the area of Highway 33 north of Douglas Avenue, according to a CHP news release.

The CHP said it appears a 2012 Hyundai Veloster was traveling southbound in the northbound lane of the highway at an unknown speed. The Hyundai collided head-on with a 2013 Peterbilt truck hauling trailers of tomatoes, traveling northbound within the lane.

Both vehicles caught fire and the driver of the big rig, Enrique Figueroa Lopez, 50, of Merced, was able to exit the vehicle. The 18-year-old male driver of the Hyundai, from Mendota, was trapped in the vehicle and died of his injuries, the CHP said.

Lopez suffered minor injuries in the collision including complaint of pain to his back and neck, the CHP said.

The name of the driver who died is being withheld pending notification of next-of-kin.