Speeding, rain likely caused Pacheco Pass crash that killed two

A single-car crash that killed two people early Wednesday morning on Pacheco Pass likely was caused by speeding in wet road conditions, the California Highway Patrol reported.

It was raining about 3:30 a.m. Wednesday when officers of the CHP’s Los Banos area office responded to reports of a rollover traffic collision on eastbound Highway 152, east of Dinosaur Point in the Pacheco Pass area, according to a news release.

Authorities determined a 24-year-old male driver from Long Beach had been driving a 2015 Toyota carrying three passengers east at a speed of about 80 mph and lost control of the vehicle.

The Toyota struck a curb, overturned and continued across both eastbound lanes of traffic, coming to a rest on its right side against a concrete rail, authorities said.

A 22-year-old woman from Indianapolis, Ind., was ejected from the car and suffered fatal injuries, as did the driver, the release states. The driver and passenger’s names weren’t released, pending notification of their families.

The two other passengers, 23-year-old Carson resident Michelle Treadwell and 22-year-old Signal Hills resident Thomas Jones, suffered major injuries and were transported to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, according to the release.

Alcohol and drugs don’t appear to have been a factor in the crash, according to the release. However, the “unsafe speed” and wet weather conditions were cited as a factor. The crash remained under investigation Wednesday morning.

This story was originally published January 11, 2017 at 2:27 PM with the headline "Speeding, rain likely caused Pacheco Pass crash that killed two."