Three die as vehicles collide, roll over and catch fire at rural Fresno County intersection

Three people died on Sunday afternoon in a collision on Cedar Avenue south of Fresno.

The crash happened just before 2 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol, when the driver of a Honda CRV headed west on Floral Avenue failed to stop at the intersection with Cedar and drove into the path of an oncoming flatbed truck.

Cedar is not controlled by stop signs at Floral Avenue, the CHP said. Floral has stop signs in both directions at the intersection.

Both vehicles overturned and caught fire. The truck was headed south on Cedar.

The driver of the Honda, and two passengers, were unable to escape and died at the scene, the CHP said in a news release. The truck driver, 72, was taken to Community Regional Medical Center with major but what authorities said were non-life threatening injuries.

The identities of those killed have not been released pending notification of family.

It is unclear why the driver of the Honda failed to stop, or whether alcohol or drugs may have been a factor in the crash.