An early morning crash on Sunday, March 8 resulted in four fatalities, with two other vehicle occupants surviving but with serious injuries.
California Highway Patrol officials indicated that shortly after 3 a.m. Sunday, they received reports of a solo vehicle traffic crash on Oakdale-Waterford Highway, north of Claribel Road. Emergency personnel arrived on scene and located a vehicle with major crash damage, fully engulfed in flames with two juveniles outside of the vehicle.
The preliminary CHP investigation indicates the driver of a 2014 Dodge SUV, occupied by two adults and four juveniles, was traveling northbound on Oakdale-Waterford Highway north of Claribel Road. For unknown reasons at this time, the driver allowed the Dodge to veer off the road to the right. The front of the Dodge SUV collided into a concrete barrier. As a result of the collision, the Dodge became fully engulfed.
Two of the juveniles, a 12-year-old female and a seven-year-old male, were able to get out of the vehicle, safely extricating themselves from the Dodge.
The 12-year-old female was transported by helicopter to UC Davis with major injuries. The seven-year-old male was transported by ambulance to a local hospital with moderate injuries. However, said authorities, two adults and two additional juvenile passengers were pronounced deceased at the scene. The identities of the deceased occupants are pending confirmation from the Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office; they were not officially available from the coroner’s office as of press time on March 10.
Outside reports, however, indicated that counseling services were being made available at the local Magnolia Elementary School in Oakdale, where one of the deceased juveniles attended school, along with the seven-year-old boy who survived. A GoFundMe account has also been established for the ‘Solorio Family’ to assist in the wake of the tragedy.
Authorities said it is unknown if drugs and/or alcohol contributed to this crash. Oakdale-Waterford Highway was temporarily closed during the investigation early Sunday. Motorists were detoured through the area with minimal delay.
