Quick Facts:
Where: The accident occurred on Interstate 5 near Patterson, California.
What Happened: A box truck allegedly rear-ended a car while the driver was distracted.
Participants:
- Daniel Vega, driver of car
- Adult passenger in car
- Child passenger in car
- Catarino Torres Jr, driver of box truck
Reported Injuries/Fatalities:
- Passenger in car, 30, killed
- Child passenger in car, 9, killed
- Daniel Vega, 25, injured
Details:
On or about Wednesday, March 3rd, 2021, around 1:00 in the afternoon, an accident between a box truck and a car left a woman and her daughter dead. Highway Patrol officials said the accident happened in the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 just outside Patterson, California.
Police said Catarino Torres Jr was driving a box truck when he allegedly took his eyes off the road and rear-ended a Toyota driven by 25-year-old Daniel Vega. A 30-year-old woman and her 9-year-old daughter in the Toyota died of their injuries a short time after the collision. Paramedics transported Vega to a nearby hospital with unknown injuries. Torres was reportedly unhurt.
Caltrans officials closed several of the southbound lanes on Interstate 5 in order to tend to the scene of the crash.
California Highway Patrol is assisting in the investigation.