MANTECA, Calif. — Manteca Mayor Gary Singh is calling for improvements to a stretch of Highway 120 after a crash claimed the lives of four people, including a two-month-old boy, over the weekend.
CHP Stockton said a 13-year-old boy, a man and a woman were also among those killed when a minivan carrying seven people lost control and struck the center median. The agency said it later flew off the overpass on Highway 120 near Van Ryn Avenue Saturday.
CHP Stockton said some of the occupants in the van were not wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash.
The agency said the road was damp from rain earlier in the evening, but investigators are still trying to determine what caused the car to lose control.
"It's very unfortunate to start seeing this happening — continue to happen, actually, in our city," Singh said. "We've been advocating to get that area 120 and 99 updated for over a decade now. It's always constantly having issues."
Singh said the first phase of improvements for the Highway 99 and 120 interchange will be under construction this fall, but that doesn’t include the specific area where the crash happened, so Singh says he wants more to be done.
"We're going to actually work with the city, we're going to contact Caltrans. I think one of the things that needs to happen is in that area of Van Ryn and where it connects with 99, there's a pretty significant gap in between the bridges there. I would like to see those K rails or guard rails extended all the way through so that way there is no hole in the middle," Singh said.
Singh said there are plans to add a lane to each side of Highway 120 in the future.
CHP said three children that were in the car when it crashed are still in the hospital Monday; a six, nine and 14-year-old.
Singh is thankful for the community members who stepped in to help get people out of the overturned car after the crash.
"It really shows the greatness of our community and the true heroes in our community that came together and helped, and not just drove by and hopefully they were able to save a few lives," he said.
The Coroner's Office is still working to identify the victims.
