An Oakdale man died early Monday morning after being hit by a minivan when he got out of a vehicle that had broken down.
The collision occurred at 5:47 a.m. Monday on Crows Landing Road, near Clausen road, between the cities of Turlock and Patterson, according to the California Highway Patrol. The man, identified by the Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office as 26-year-old Anthony Lucero, was traveling southbound with another man when the Dodge Ram they were in became disabled, said CHP Officer Jose Gonazalez.
He did not know who’d been driving the Dodge but said Lucero got out and for unknown reasons started crossing the street when he was hit by the southbound minivan. Lucero was taken to Emanuel Medical Center in Turlock, where he was pronounced dead.
The driver of the minivan, a 35-year-old Modesto man, stayed at the scene and cooperated with investigators, Gonzalez said. He said drugs and/or alcohol use has been ruled out for the minivan driver but a toxicology test will be needed to determine if Lucero was under the influence.