A vehicle fire on Interstate 5 southbound just north of State Route 198 near Coalinga left one person dead early in the morning.
California Highway Patrol dispatch logs show the incident was first reported at 2:22 a.m. as a vehicle on fire in the center divider, with the problem later changed from a car fire to a fatality. Logs indicate a solo vehicle crash with the vehicle fully engulfed in flames, and a coroner was notified and arrived on scene.
Two occupants were initially reported out of the vehicle and walking around, but authorities later confirmed one death.
The vehicle was described as a 2004 GMC Yukon, blue in color, with front-end and rear-end damage and only the front license plate remaining.
CHP units were assigned at 2:23 a.m., arrived on scene starting at 2:37 a.m. and cleared the scene by 6:01 a.m.
A tow truck was requested for the completely burned vehicle.
Identities and the cause of the crash were not immediately available.
The CHP recorded the crash at GPS coordinates: 36.257907 -120.246414
Sources:
– CHP CAD incident viewer: https://cad.chp.ca.gov/
