DEL RIO, Calif. — 4 people, including a one-year-old child, were killed in a collision in the Del Rio area, near Modesto.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the fatal collision was reported in the area of McHenry Avenue and Hogue Road just after 4 p.m. Police said four cars were found with collision damage.
Police said the driver a 2004 Mitsubishi sedan, a 19-year-old woman from Merced, and a 22-year-old man, who was her passenger, were pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of a Toyota SUV, a 60-year-old woman from Linden, was taken to a hospital where she died from her injuries. The last victim was a one-year-old girl, who was also in the Toyota. She was taken to a hospital, where she later died from her injuries.
According to police, the driver of the Mitsubishi was heading north on McHenry Avenue when the car went from the number one lane to the number two lane and back into the number one lane. It’s not clear why the car did this. Eventually, police said the Mitsubishi went into a southbound lane and crashed head-on into the Toyota SUV.
A 2001 Ford pickup was heading south on McHenry Avenue in the number two lane when it hit both the Mitsubishi and Toyota before stopping. A 2014 Ram van also struck the Mitsubishi before coming to a stop.
It’s not clear if drugs and/or alcohol played a role in the collision. CHP initially described the crash as a hit-and-run, but said their investigation determined it to be a four-car crash.