Driver killed in Highway 99 collision near Atwater identified by Merced County Coroner

The Merced County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Office has identified a driver killed in a collision inside a construction zone along Highway 99 in Merced County Monday as 28-year-old Carlos Miguel of Turlock, according to Deputy Daryl Allen.

At about 1 a.m. Monday, CHP officers responded to the collision in a construction zone in the area of northbound Highway 99, north of the Applegate Road on and off-ramps. Arriving officers found a 2010 BMW 328i had crashed into parked paving vehicle in the closed construction zone along the highway.

According to authorities, it appears the vehicle entered northbound Highway 99 from a closed on-ramp at Applegate Road. The vehicle drove along a newly-paved section of the construction zone and drove off the pavement onto a dirt roadway.

The vehicle appears to have struck a concrete K-rail before overturning onto the passenger side. The vehicles roof then struck the parked paving machine in the closed construction zone, according to the CHP.

Authorities said Miguel succumbed to his injuries at the scene.

CHP said alcohol appears to have been a factor in the collision, which remains under investigation.