A single-vehicle crash and fire on Interstate 5 southbound just north of State Route 198 near Coalinga left one person dead early Tuesday morning.
According to California Highway Patrol dispatch logs, the incident was first reported at 2:21 a.m. as a vehicle on fire in the center divider. The reporting party said two occupants were out of the vehicle and walking around, and the vehicle appeared to have front- and rear-end damage. The logs note the vehicle was overturned in the center divider and fully engulfed in flames. Firefighters arrived on scene. The incident was updated from a car fire to a fatality at 6:01 a.m., with logs describing it as a solo vehicle fatality. The coroner arrived on scene, and a tow truck was requested for the completely burned vehicle.
CHP units were assigned at 2:23 a.m. and arrived on scene between 2:37 a.m. and 2:45 a.m. The vehicle was identified as a blue 2004 GMC Yukon with only the front license plate remaining. Units cleared the scene between 5:08 a.m. and 6:01 a.m.
The identities of those involved 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/
