Driver dies after truck hits tree off Highway 41 in Fresno. Here’s what CHP said led to crash

A 56-year-old Fresno man was killed Monday when a collision on northbound Highway 41 sent his truck careening over the embankment onto the Van Ness Street off-ramp and into a palm tree.

The truck struck the tree broadside on the driver’s side, toppling the top of the tree, with the impact nearly bending the truck in half and starting a fire.

Fresno Fire and EMS responded, along with the California Highway Patrol. The man was removed from the vehicle but pronounced dead at the scene.

According to the CHP, the man was driving a Toyota pickup truck in the No. 1 lane at an unsafe speed for traffic and approached a second vehicle, a Ford Bronco driven by a 37-year-old woman from Harbor City. The man hit the brakes and turned right to avoid a collision, but the left front of the truck hit the right rear of the Bronco.

Neither the woman nor her passenger sought medical treatment at the scene.

The CHP is investigating the incident. It is not known if drugs or alcohol were a factor.

This story was originally published July 4, 2022 at 5:31 PM.