One dead, one injured in Merced County crash

A 34-year-old Oakdale man died Friday night when he was ejected from a vehicle that rolled over just off Highway 99, south of Delhi in Merced County, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The name of the victim was not released pending notification of his family or next of kin by the Merced County Coroner’s Office.

Another man, Joseph Jesse Padilla, 37, of Salida suffered unspecified major injuries in the crash and was taken to a regional hospital for treatment, the CHP said in a news release. An update on his condition was not available Sunday.

Neither man was wearing a seat belt, the CHP said.

The crash was reported at 10:30 p.m. Friday in the area of Highway 99 and Collier Road, between Delhi and Livingston.

Investigators said Padilla was driving a 2008 Dodge pickup truck north on Highway 99 about 65 mph.

Witnesses told the CHP that Padilla’s vehicle appeared to veer sharply to the left. The driver tried to correct but instead caused the pickup to swing sharply to the right. The vehicle traveled about 100 feet off the roadway, down an embankment and rolled over at the bottom of the hill, ejecting the passenger, the CHP reported.

Padilla was trapped inside the overturned truck and had to be removed by firefighters with the Merced County Fire Department, authorities said.

The Oakdale man was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics with Riggs Ambulance Service, the CHP said.

Officers said neither drugs nor alcohol appear to have been factors in the crash.

This story was originally published February 8, 2015 at 12:21 PM with the headline "One dead, one injured in Merced County crash."