Mother killed in head-on crash in Madera County that injured her child is ID’d
A head-on crash Wednesday evening in Madera County killed a mother, and sent her daughter and a man to the hospital.
The woman killed was identified by Madera County Coroner’s Office as 49-year-old Patricia Vargas of Madera County.
The crash, initially reported as a two-vehicle crash, happened at 6:15 p.m. at Road 27 and Avenue 17.
California Highway Patrol spokesman Javier Ruvalcaba said officers arrived and determined it was a three-vehicle crash.
A driver in the Chrysler 300 was traveling northbound on Road 27 when it abruptly made a left turn westbound onto Avenue 17.
A black Nissan Rogue, which was driven by Vargas, was traveling southbound, ended up getting clipped by the Chrysler.
And in Vargas’ attempt to avoid a full-on collision with the Chrysler, the Rogue swerved, Ruvalcaba said.
But Vargas ended up losing control of the Rogue as it traveled in an easterly direction and struck head-on with a Ford F-350 that was pulling a trailer northbound on Road 27, CHP said.
Vargas who had been driving to Rogue was pronounced dead at the scene.
A man in the right front seat of the Rogue and the woman’s 12-year-old girl, who was in the back, sustained major injuries.
The man was airlifted to Community Regional Medical Center and the girl was taken in an ambulance to Valley Children’s Healthcare.
Ruvalcaba said the three are family members.
The man in the Chrysler 300 was arrested on suspicion of DUI.
This story was originally published February 9, 2022 at 9:54 PM.
