Local
Seven children among nine dead in fiery head-on crash in Fresno County
UPDATE: The Fresno County Coroner’s Office on Wednesday identified the victims:
Gabriela Pulido, 34, of Coalinga (mother of children with last names of Pulido. Other children were her relatives); Giada Pulido, 15, of Coalinga; Brooke Pulido, 14, of Coalinga; Jonah Pulido-Verdin, 11, of Coalinga; Mia Pulido, 8, of Coalinga; Daniella Ayala-Verdin, 11, of Coalinga; Camilla Ayala, 8, of Coalinga; and Anthony Verdin-Ayala, 6, of Coalinga.
The coroner’s office noted it had to wait on DNA to confirm some of the identities.
ORIGINAL STORY: Nine people including seven children were killed Friday in a fiery head-on collision on Highway 33 in Fresno County, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A 28-year-old man was traveling southbound on Highway 33 south of Sutter Avenue in a 2013 Dodge at the same time a 2007 Ford was headed northbound carrying eight people about 8 p.m., according to CHP. The vehicle models were not available.
The man in the Dodge allowed his car to travel onto the dirt on the side of the road for an unknown reason, CHP said, before over-correcting and traveling into the southbound lane. He was identified as Daniel Luna of Avenal by the Fresno County Coroner’s Office.
The vehicles collided head-on on the highway west of Avenal before the Ford burst into flames and came to rest off the highway, CHP said. The Dodge came to rest straddling both lanes.
The Ford was engulfed with flames when emergency crews arrived, CHP said. The vehicle only had five restraints for the eight passengers.
The cause of the crash was still under investigation, CHP said Saturday morning. No names of the occupants of the Ford had been released. A CHP news conference was planned for Saturday afternoon in Coalinga.
The Fresno County Coroner’s Office was working on identifying all of the victims, according to spokesperson Tony Botti. He said the driver of the Ford was an adult and all of the passengers were children.
“It looks like they’re two related families,” he said. “The ages are between 6 and 15 years old (for the) seven children.”
Deadly holiday weekend on Fresno County roads
The New Year’s weekend has already been deadly. A 30-year-old man was killed in a suspected drunken-driving crash on Highway 168 in Fresno during the early hours of Saturday, according to the the CHP.
He was the passenger in a car that overturned multiple times on the highway near the Shields off-ramp.
The driver, 31-year-old Joey Barron, was suspected of drunken driving and arrested, according to CHP. The man who died was identified as Andres Romero, 30, of Fresno, according to the Fresno County Coroner’s Office.
Two others died in wrecks on Friday, New Year’s Day.
A driver died about 1 a.m. at West Shaw and North Del Mar avenues when his 2006 Ford Mustang slammed into a curb, became airborne, and hit a brick wall and tree, officers said. The 31-year-old was identified as William Mullin Jr. of Fresno, according to the Fresno County Coroner’s Office.
His 37-year-old passenger was taken to Community Regional Medical Center with major injuries, according to the CHP. Neither man was wearing a seatbelt and alcohol appears to be a factor in the crash.
About the same time, a 41-year-old Madera woman was killed in Madera County when the Dodge Ram she was riding in overturned on private property near Road 145 and Road 206, the CHP said.
Ashton Wilfong, 28, of Friant was driving the truck when she rolled it and the victim was partially ejected, according to the CHP. Officers said Wilfong was under the influence and was arrested.
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