Driver killed, passenger injured in rollover crash on Highway 99 in Merced County

One person is dead and another person was transported to the hospital with injuries after a vehicle overturned along Highway 99 in Merced County.

At about 12:50 p.m., California Highway Patrol officers responded to the scene of a solo-vehicle rollover collision along northbound Highway 99 just north of Franklin Road, according to Officer Eric Zuniga. The CHP said a 67-year-old man from San Diego was driving a 2000 Lexus sedan northbound on Highway 99 with a 41-year-old female passenger also from San Diego.

For unknown reasons, the vehicle veered off the right shoulder of the road and overturned several times, according to Zuniga. The man was pronounced dead at the scene and the woman was transported to Mercy Medical Center with minor to moderate injuries.

According to Zuniga, it is unknown if either occupant was wearing a seat belt at the time of the collision,

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