Los Banos

Grandmother killed in Merced County crash identified, coroner says

By Thaddeus Miller
Four people were arrested after a prosecutor says a 15-year-old boy was kept in a barn with farm animals in rural Lincoln County, officials say. The boy was so malnourished he was a week from death, according to officials.
Four people were arrested after a prosecutor says a 15-year-old boy was kept in a barn with farm animals in rural Lincoln County, officials say. The boy was so malnourished he was a week from death, according to officials. File

The grandmother killed this week in a Los Banos-area crash that also took the lives of two of her grandchildren has been identified, according to the Merced County Coroner’s Office.

The woman was killed Tuesday when a 2011 Freightliner driven by 56-year-old Braulio Martinez of Ontario slammed into the back of her 2012 Dodge Caravan, according to the California Highway Patrol. The coroner identified her Wednesday as 57-year-old Regina Dorado of Covina.

Dorado was driving northbound with with her grandchildren when the big rig failed to stop as traffic slowed near an unrelated accident on I-5 near Taglio Road about 1:55 a.m., CHP said. The van was pushed into the center median by the force of the big rig, CHP said.

The crash also killed Dorado’s grandchildren, who are ages 6 and 10, CHP said. The Coroner’s Office did not release their names on Wednesday as officials are still searching for relatives.

Another granddaughter in the van, a 6-year-old twin of the girl who died in the collision, was flown to Valley Children’s Hospital in Madera with major injuries, CHP said. Also in the van was 19-year-old Raylene Valencia, who was taken to Memorial Hospital in Modesto with minor injuries.

The Merced County Sheriff’s Office said the hospitalized twin is recovering and is expected to be released from the hospital.

This story was originally published July 18, 2018 at 11:40 AM.

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