Modesto man killed in crash involving Stanislaus sheriff’s deputy responding to call
Click here for an updated story »» Fatal crash update: Deputy was responding to fight between Newman officer, suspect
Original story:
A 21-year-old Modesto man was killed Sunday morning in a collision near Newman that also involved a Stanislaus County sheriff’s deputy. The 34-year-old male deputy and the 19-year-old female passenger in the other vehicle both suffered major injuries.
The crash occurred at 7:13 a.m. on River Road at Villa Manucha Road, north of Newman. Conditions were foggy, according to a California Highway Patrol collision report.
CHP Modesto office spokesman Officer Tom Olsen said the deputy was driving an undercover vehicle, a 2019 Nissan sedan, on his way to back up a Newman police request for assistance. The Nissan’s lights and siren were on at the time of the crash, Olsen said.
The preliminary investigation indicates the deputy was southbound on River Road, approaching Villa Manucha. Road. The driver of the other vehicle, a 2015 Chevrolet coupe, was stopped on Villa Manucha at the “T” intersection. River Road traffic is uncontrolled, while drivers on Villa Manucha have a stop sign.
The Chevy driver, whose name was withheld pending notification of family, entered the intersection directly into the path of the deputy’s Nissan, the CHP reported.
The front of the Nissan struck the left side of the Chevy, and the impact caused both vehicles to continue southwest before coming to rest in a field.
The Nissan driver was pronounced dead at the scene. Passenger Maria Prado, also of Modesto, was taken to Doctors Medical Center.
The deputy, who’s been with the Sheriff’s Department since 2012, was taken to Memorial Medical Center, Olsen said.
A news release from the Sheriff’s Department said the deputy’s and Prado’s injuries both were major but not life-threatening.
The deputy’s name was not released by the Sheriff’s Department or the CHP on Sunday.
River Road between Crows Landing Road and Kilburn Road was closed during the investigation. Traffic was diverted through the area with minimal delay, the CHP reported.
“It is unknown at this time if drugs and/or alcohol contributed to this collision,” the CHP release said. “Due to the extent of damage, it is still being investigated if any safety restraints systems were used at the time of the collision.”
The Sheriff’s Department release said multiple deputies were responding with emergency lights and sirens to the Newman PD request for assistance. It said nothing about the nature of the Newman request, and the Police Department office is closed on Sundays.
Olsen said the CHP’s multidisciplinary accident investigation team is “doing a parallel investigation with the Modesto CHP” of the crash.
