Coroner identifies Fresno woman killed in Highway 99 crash near Le Grand in Merced County

The Merced County Sheriff Coroner’s Office has identified a driver killed in a collision on Highway 99 in Merced County on Wednesday, as 51-year-old Joan Rubalcava of Fresno, according to Deputy Daryl Allen.

At about 7:41 p.m., officers responded to southbound Highway 99 just north of Le Grand road for a collision involving multiple vehicles, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Eric Zuniga.

The CHP said a 2006 Nissan Titan driven by 22-year-old Billy Cole of Red Bluff, was traveling northbound on Highway 99 north of Le Grand Road, when for unknown reasons the vehicle drove into the center divide.

The vehicle traveled across the median and into the southbound lanes of traffic where it collided head-on with a 2017 Honda Pilot in the No. 1 southbound lane of Highway 99 driven by Rubalcava.

Zuniga said the impact caused at least one of the vehicles to collide with a 2019 Chevrolet Malibu in the No. 2 southbound lane driven by 41-year-old Carla Benavides of Chowchilla. Cole was flown to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto for treatment of moderate injuries and Benavides was transported to Mercy Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries.

According to the CHP, Rubalcava was pronounced dead a the scene.

Zuniga said neither drugs nor alcohol appear to be a factor in the collision which remains under investigation.

This story was originally published February 24, 2022 at 1:26 PM.