4 dead after separate Highway 99 crashes in Fresno

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- Two fatal accidents along Highway 99 Sunday morning have left four people dead.

CHP officers say the first accident happened just before 3 a.m. southbound on the highway north of Herndon Avenue when a 1998 Ford Explorer was driving in the middle lane at a fast speed lost control and made a turning movement to the left. The SUV collided into the concrete center divider.

When the driver veered back to the right, it flipped over right in front of another car. Officers say that second car wasn't able to stop in time and hit the overturned car. As a result of the crash, all three people in the Explorer died.

They say the victim in the other car survived and was transported to CRMC with neck and back pain complaints. A few hours later at about 9:30 a.m., a second crash killed another person on the northbound 99 near McKinley Avenue.

CHP officers say a person in a 2009 Toyota Corolla was also driving at a fast speed when it collided with the rear end of a Caltrans vehicle that was conducting a sweeping detail in the center divider.

"They had ample signage up making the motorists aware that this maintenance was going to be going on," Vic Taylor with the CHP said. For some unknown reason, a small Toyota sedan ran into the back of the attenuator truck."

The Corolla then lost control and began to spin across the highway lanes, crashing into a Hummer. CHP officers say the victim in the Corolla died. The man driving the Hummer received minor injuries and the Caltrans driver was not injured.

None of the crash victims who died have been identified yet, and CHP officers are still investigating whether alcohol or drugs played a factor.