MODESTO, Calif. — The four people killed Tuesday in a multi-vehicle crash in Stanislaus County have been identified.
According to the Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office, they are:
- 1-year-old Clara Howells of Turlock
- 19-year-old Angeles Escoto of Merced
- 22-year-old Francis Catano of Merced
- 60-year-old Patricia Lopez
The California Highway Patrol says it was called about a crash on McHenry Avenue just north of Hogue Road around 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Upon arrival, responders found four vehicles with collision damage.
CHP says its preliminary investigation found Escoto was driving a Mitsubishi sedan north in the #1 lane of McHenry Avenue. For unknown reasons, she entered the #2 lane and went back to the #1 lane before entering the southbound lanes and hitting a Toyota SUV driven by Lopez head-on.
A person driving a pickup truck southbound on McHenry hit both the Mitsubishi and Toyota while another person driving a Ram van hit the Mitsubishi.
Escoto and her passenger, Francis Catano, were pronounced dead at the scene.
The driver of the SUV, Patricia Lopez, and her passenger, one-year-old Clara Howells, were taken to the hospital. Both died from their injuries.
The tragedy has left their family grieving.
"She (the mother) is doing just like anyone would be doing when they lost their child and their mother in one day and, as first responders, we save all human life and that’s our job, but it’s different when there’s a child involved," said CHP spokesperson Officer Tom Olsen.
The drivers of the Ford and Ram were uninjured.
It’s not known if drugs or alcohol contributed to the crash. CHP said everyone was wearing a seatbelt, and the one-year-old girl was in a car seat.
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