A vehicle overturned and caught fire on Interstate 5 southbound just north of State Route 198 near Coalinga early morning, leaving one person dead.
According to California Highway Patrol dispatch logs, the incident was reported at 2:22 a.m. as a vehicle on fire in the center divider, possibly involved in a traffic collision. The reporting party said two occupants were out of the vehicle and walking around. The vehicle appeared to have front- and rear-end damage. The call was transferred to Cal Fire.
At 2:23 a.m., additional details noted the vehicle was overturned in the center divider with an unknown traffic hazard. Fire personnel arrived on scene at 2:33 a.m. By 2:37 a.m., the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames southbound just south of State Route 145.
CHP units were assigned at 2:23 a.m., en route shortly after and arrived on scene by 2:37 a.m. At 4:57 a.m., the coroner arrived on scene and a tow truck was requested for the completely burned vehicle.
At 5:52 a.m., CHP documented a 2004 blue GMC Yukon with only the front license plate remaining, no longer attached to the vehicle. The vehicle was towed as a disabled vehicle.
At 6:01 a.m., the incident was updated from a car fire to a fatality involving a solo vehicle. CHP units cleared the scene by 6:01 a.m.
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/
