Coroner identifies driver killed in Highway 59 collision in Merced County

The Merced County Sheriff Coroner’s Office has identified a driver killed in a Highway 59 head-on collision Saturday, as Lloyd Riggen, 80, of San Jose, according to Deputy Daryl Allen.

California Highway Patrol officers responded to the collision just after 8:30 p.m. on Highway 59, north of Freitas Avenue.

According to the CHP, Riggen was driving a 2001 Mercedes northbound on Highway 59, when for unknown reasons, the vehicle veered into the southbound lane where it collided head-on with a 2018 Dodge Ram.

Riggen was pronounced dead at the scene, according to authorities. The driver of the Dodge, 53-year-old Angelo Machado of El Nido, was transported to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto for treatment of minor to moderate injuries.