Driver thrown from pickup truck and dies in a rollover crash Saturday along Highway 99
A man in his mid-70s was killed Saturday afternoon when the pickup he was driving on Highway 99 near Madera veered off the freeway, crashed into a railroad embankment and overturned, throwing him from the vehicle.
The crash was reported about 12:30 p.m. The driver, whose name was not available from the California Highway Patrol, was alone in the pickup as he headed north on Highway 99 just north of Avenue 17. California Highway Patrol Officer Salvador Contreras said the silver Toyota Tacoma drifted onto the right-hand shoulder of the freeway, causing the driver to lose control.
The pickup veered through a muddy stretch between the freeway and the adjacent Union Pacific Railroad tracks, hit the embankment below the tracks and overturned, throwing an array of debris from the pickup bed and the driver from the cab.
Contreras said officers found the driver a few feet from where the pickup came to rest.
Investigators said they believe the driver was going between 75 mph and 80 mph.
The weather had been rainy on and off through Saturday morning and early afternoon and the shoulder of the freeway was very muddy, but it was not raining at the time of the crash and officers said weather was not believed to be a factor in the crash.
This story was originally published April 16, 2022 at 2:57 PM.
