Madera, CA: Officials said that eight persons were killed in a head-on collision in the Central Valley on Friday morning.
The fatal collision occurred around 6:17 a.m. on Avenue 7, a rural road in Madera County, to the west of Road 22, as reported by Javier Ruvalcaba, a California Highway Patrol spokesperson reported.
Ruvalcaba stated that the incident occurred between a van transporting eight farmworkers to work and a heavy-duty pick-up vehicle driven by one person with no passengers. Both drivers and six passengers in the van died from their injuries and were declared dead on the spot, according to Ruvalcaba.
Only one individual in the van survived, a grown man who was taken to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno. Ruvalcaba reported that the individual is in stable condition.
Ruvalcaba stated that all individuals in the van, except the driver and the front passenger on the right side, were not wearing their seatbelts at the time of the incident.
The CHP is probing the crash to determine if drugs or alcohol played a role in the collision. Ruvalcaba stated that the CHP got complaints about the pick-up truck exhibiting erratic behavior and swerving before the collision.
CHP stopped both lanes between Road 21 and Road 22 at the time of the incident and would maintain the closure until at least 3 p.m. on Friday, as stated by Ruvalcaba.