Wrong-way driver dies in highway crash near Chowchilla
A 46-year-old Madera man was killed in an early-morning crash Wednesday after he was apparently driving in the wrong lanes where highways 99 and 152 meet near Chowchilla, the California Highway Patrol said.
He was identified as Romeo De Torres Abracosa.
A call came in shortly after 2 a.m. about a crash on northbound Highway 99 at Highway 152.
Officers determined the Madera man was driving a 2015 Jetta the wrong direction in the transition lanes for traffic preparing to head west on Highway 152 from Highway 99.
The man in the other vehicle, identified only as F. Ocegueda-Jacinto, 35, of Mendota, was uninjured in the crash.
Ocegueda-Jacinto, who was driving a 2016 Peterbilt truck, tried to avoid the collision by changing lanes, but the other driver moved into the same lane, where the two crashed head-on, the CHP said.
It’s still unknown if the victim was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but the crash is still under investigation.
Troy Pope: 559-441-6442, @troycpope
This story was originally published December 2, 2016 at 10:05 AM with the headline "Wrong-way driver dies in highway crash near Chowchilla."