MADERA COUNTY, CA – Tragedy struck on Friday morning when a pickup truck and a minivan, carrying farmworkers, collided head-on, resulting in the death of eight people and leaving one injured, as per the California Highway Patrol.
The horrific incident unfolded around 6:15 a.m. when an elderly man driving a Chevrolet Silverado, for reasons yet to be ascertained, crossed into the oncoming lane and crashed into a GMC Safari, as confirmed by Officer Javier Ruvalcaba, a spokesperson for the agency.
The deadly collision resulted in the death of the drivers of both vehicles and six passengers from the GMC. Ruvalcaba added that during the impact, one person was ejected from the vehicle, and another was partially ejected.
The sole survivor of the accident was immediately rushed to the Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno. As of Friday afternoon, the survivor’s condition remained undisclosed.
While the identities and ages of the victims are yet to be revealed, Ruvalcaba confirmed that all involved were adult males. The GMC was carrying a total of eight people when the accident occurred.
Ruvalcaba also pointed out that, with the exception of the driver and front passenger of the GMC, none of the occupants were wearing seatbelts at the time of the collision. The investigation is still underway, and it remains unclear whether drugs or alcohol were a factor in the crash.