IDENTIFIED: 19 year old who crashed into driver near Kerman

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. ( KSEE/KGPE ) – The 19-year-old who died after colliding into a driver going the opposite way on Highway 180 early Saturday morning has been identified by the Fresno County Coroner’s Office.

According to the California Highway Patrol, just before 2 a.m. on Saturday, a 19-year-old man was traveling eastbound on Highway 180 west of Dickenson Avenue as a 27-year-old man was traveling westbound in the opposite direction.

Officers say the 19-year-old veered directly into the path of the 27-year-old driver. As a result, the vehicles collided head-on inflicting major intrusion damage to both cars.

The 19-year-old driver was identified by officials as Vanshdeep Singh of Madera.

Singh was reported to have sustained critical injuries and died at the scene while the 27-year-old, identified by CHP as Luis Salazar of Porterville, sustained major injuries. Salazar’s female passenger also sustained major injuries and was transported to a local hospital.

Investigators report that Salazar was not at fault for the crash – but he was determined to have been driving under the influence of alcohol at the time. He was arrested on suspicion of DUI before being transported to the hospital.

The investigation into the incident is ongoing.

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