A man died Thursday night after swerving off southbound Highway 99 in the downtown Modesto area, crashing into a disabled vehicle that was sitting on the shoulder and being ejected from his vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The collision happened about 7:50 p.m. south of the South Ninth Street on-ramp. The CHP news release on the incident said the driver of the 2019 Chevrolet was traveling at high speed when he swerved to the right, onto the asphalt shoulder.
The Chevrolet struck an unoccupied, disabled vehicle sitting there and then hit a chain-link fence and overturned onto the Union Pacific Railroad tracks.
The driver, a 38-year-old Riverside man, was not wearing his seat belt and was thrown from his vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
It has not been determined whether alcohol or drugs factored in the crash. The man’s name is being withheld pending notification of family.