Man killed in head-on crash between pickup, big rig on Grayson Road
A man was killed in a head-on collision just east of Grayson on West Grayson Road Thursday afternoon, authorities said.
The crash occurred just east of Shiloh Road at about 2:15 p.m. when the driver of a Dodge Ram pickup, traveling east, attempted to pass another vehicle, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Tom Olsen.
The Ram crossed solid double yellow lines and entered the westbound lanes, where it collided head on with a big rig.
The big rig and Ram both caught fire. The driver of the big rig, 44-year-old Raul Moreno of Modesto, escaped injury and got out of the big rig.
The driver of the Ram died at the scene. His name and hometown have not been released.
Initially it was unclear, due to extensive collision and fire damage, whether there was also a passenger in the RAM. Olsen confirmed at 4:30 p.m. that only the driver was inside the vehicle.
West Grayson Road is closed between Shiloh and Laird roads with no estimated time for reopening.
A recent report by The Modesto Bee detailed the increase in traffic and fatal collisions on rural west Stanislaus County Roads.
Four two-lane roads — West Grayson, Paradise, Shiloh and Carpenter — saw 459 crashes, a 66% increase, in the last five years compared to the prior five years, according to a Bee analysis of preliminary CHP data collected by researchers at the University of California at Berkeley. These crashes often take place at intersections or on stretches of road where drivers attempt to pass traffic.
On those four roads alone, recent crashes led to 692 injuries and 18 deaths. In the previous five-year time span, there were 419 injuries and 10 deaths.
