Man dies in rollover crash on Interstate 5 in Merced County, CHP says
A man is dead following a Merced County rollover crash on Thanksgiving, according to the California Highway Patrol.
At about 7 p.m. Thursday, Los Banos-area CHP officers responded to a report of a two-vehicle collision on northbound Interstate 5 south of Allen Road, according to a CHP news release.
The CHP said a 1996 Toyota Camry driven by a 56-year-old Reseda man was traveling northbound on I-5 in the left lane at a high rate of speed, directly behind a 2013 Chevrolet Traverse driven by 67-year-old Carolyn Romanini of Bakersfield.
The Chevrolet was traveling at about 75 mph when the Toyota moved to the median to pass the Chevrolet on the left side, the release said. When the Toyota moved back into the left lane, the right rear of the Toyota collided with the front left of the Chevrolet.
The driver of the Toyota lost control of the vehicle, which traveled across both northbound lanes of traffic, across the right shoulder and left the roadway before overturning when it collided with a barbed-wire fence, according to the CHP.
The driver of the Toyota was pinned inside the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene by responding emergency medical services personnel, authorities said. Romanini, her 41-year-old female passenger and 12-year-old male passenger stopped at the scene of the crash and did not report any injuries.
According to the CHP, drugs or alcohol may have been a factor in the collision, which remains under investigation. The man’s name is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
