Tulare County crash kills one, critically injures another

A car crash in northern Tulare County left a 40-year-old woman from Ivanhoe dead and a teen with major injuries Saturday evening.

The cause of the accident is still under investigation, but alcohol does not appear to be a factor according to the California Highway Patrol.

The collision happened just before 5 p.m. on Avenue 384 just west of Road 108, near the community of Monson. CHP says Gregory Young, 29, of Tulare, was driving eastbound when for an undetermined reason his 2001 International veered into the oncoming lane, hitting a 2006 Lincoln Navigator carrying five people from Ivanhoe.

The front-seat passenger, who was not immediately identified by the CHP, died at the scene. Another passenger, Luisa Mendoza, 18, was taken to Community Regional Medical Center with major injuries. The driver, Rafael Mendoza, 18, and a 17-year-old male passenger sustained minor injuries and a 9-year-old boy was apparently unhurt.

This story was originally published December 20, 2015 at 7:04 PM with the headline "Tulare County crash kills one, critically injures another."