Mt. Whitney student dead after flipping truck, passenger injured: CHP
A Visalia Unified High School student died in rollover crash in Fresno County early Sunday morning, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Visalia Unified School District took a moment Tuesday to remind students, teachers and administrators that they have resources to help.
“We had a reminder this past weekend about mental health impact,” said Ivan Rodriguez, program director for Visalia Youth Services. “We had a loss in the Mt. Whitney community.”
The driver — identified by the Fresno County Coroner's Office as 17-year-old Nathan Oliva, a Mt. Whitney High School student — was traveling east on Highway 198 at Dickenson Avenue at around 1 a.m. Sunday when Oliva veered off the roadway before crashing into a ditch, police said.
Officers say he was traveling upwards of 60 mph down Highway 198, west of Lemoore Naval Air Station. The speed limit is 55 in that area.
After veering into the ditch, the truck flipped onto its roof. Oliva was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected thrown from the vehicle and landed in the nearby field, CHP officers reported.
He died at the scene.
The passenger of the vehicle, a 19-year-old, suffered major injuries, according to the CHP. The passenger was transported to a local hospital. The person's name, sex and condition weren't given as of Wednesday morning.
Officers are hoping an autopsy and toxicology report will give insight into what may have led to the fatal single-vehicle wreck.
This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: Mt. Whitney student dead after flipping truck, passenger injured: CHP
