CHP: Head-on crash reported near Merced

A Winton woman suffered minor injuries Tuesday morning following a head-on collision on Highway 59, just south of Merced, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The crash happened around 11 a.m. after a black Honda Civic was traveling northbound on Highway 59, north of Gerard Avenue, according to CHP. The driver of the Honda, Shane Middleton, 20, of Merced, tried to turn into a gas station, turning left across the southbound lane of Highway 59, into oncoming traffic.

The Honda crashed head-on into a gray Toyota Camry, driven by Erica Maldonado, 24, of Winton, who was traveling south on Highway 59. The Camry then traveled into the gas station parking lot and crashed into a parked Nissan 350Z.

Maldonado was taken to an area hospital by a Riggs ambulance with minor injuries. Middleton was not injured, Officer Moises Onsurez said.

Both vehicles sustained major front-end damage.

Neither drugs nor alcohol were factors, the CHP said.

CHP reopened the road to traffic not long after the crash.

This story was originally published December 16, 2014 at 12:07 PM with the headline "CHP: Head-on crash reported near Merced."