A vehicle overturned and caught fire on southbound Interstate 5 just north of State Route 198 near Coalinga, leaving one person dead Tuesday morning.
According to California Highway Patrol dispatch logs, the incident was first reported as a car fire at 2:21 a.m., with the reporting party advising that two occupants were out of the vehicle and walking around. The problem was later changed from car fire to fatality at 6:01 a.m., with officers reporting a solo vehicle fatality. A coroner arrived on scene, and a tow truck was requested for the completely burned vehicle.
The logs indicate the vehicle was fully engulfed in flames in the center divider, with front-end and rear-end damage. Fire personnel were notified and arrived on scene. Officers arrived at the scene starting at 2:37 a.m. and cleared by 6:01 a.m.
The vehicle was described as a blue 2004 GMC Yukon with only the front license plate remaining, which was no longer attached.
Authorities did not immediately release the identity of the deceased or the cause of the crash.
The CHP recorded the crash at GPS coordinates: 36.257907 -120.246414
Sources:
– CHP CAD incident viewer: https://cad.chp.ca.gov/
