Mariposa County coroner identifies high school student killed in solo vehicle crash
A Mariposa County High School student killed in a solo vehicle collision which left a teenager passenger injured on Tuesday evening, has been identified as 18-year-old Mackenzie Hunter, according to Mariposa County Sheriff Coroner’s Office Public Information Officer Kristie Mitchell.
According to Mariposa-area California Highway Patrol Sgt. Brent DeNatly, a 15-year-old male passenger in the vehicle suffered major injures and was transported to Valley Children’s Hospital near Fresno.
According to the CHP, Hunter was driving a 2001 Ford F-250 on Darrah Road west of Deer Springs Road at an unknown speed prior to the collision. The driver was negotiating a series of curves along a stretch of Darrah Road which is a major roadway through the county and services several residential areas, according to DeNatly.
The CHP said it appears Hunter allowed the Ford to drift onto the shoulder before steering the vehicle back onto the roadway. The vehicle rotated and crossed both lanes before traveling down a hill and striking a tree, according to the CHP. Authorities said the driver was not wearing a seat belt.
Hunter was pronounced dead at the scene, according to authorities.
DeNatly said that at this time, neither drugs nor alcohol appear to be a factor in the crash which remains under investigation. Anyone with information regarding the crash is asked to contact the Mariposa-area CHP office at 209-996-3656 and ask to speak with Officer Long.
