A vehicle fire on southbound Interstate 5 just north of State Route 198 near Coalinga left one person dead early in the morning.
According to California Highway Patrol dispatch logs, the incident was reported at 2:21 a.m. as a vehicle on fire in the center divider, possibly involved in a traffic collision. The reporting party advised that two occupants were out of the vehicle and walking around, with the vehicle showing front- and rear-end damage and overturned in the center divider. The call was transferred to Cal Fire, which arrived on scene shortly after.
The vehicle became fully engulfed in flames, and the incident was later updated to a fatality at 6:01 a.m., described as a solo vehicle fatality. A coroner arrived on scene, and a tow truck was requested for the completely burned vehicle.
CHP units were assigned at 2:23 a.m., arrived between 2:37 a.m. and 2:45 a.m., and cleared the scene between 5:08 a.m. and 6:01 a.m.
The vehicle was described as a blue 2004 GMC Yukon with only the front license plate remaining, no longer attached to the vehicle.
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/
