Three people are dead and three others injured after a crash involving two vehicles south of Del Rey. The crash happened after 7 a.m. at the intersection of South and McCall.
According to the CHP, a preliminary report indicates that a Saturn heading eastbound on South Ave. was carrying three males and one female, ages 21 to 22. A witness says the vehicle passed a car at a high rate of speed and failed to stop at the stop sign. It then collided with a Toyota that was heading southbound on McCall with two male passengers.
The impact sent the two vehicles into an adjacent vineyard. When emergency responders arrived, they found three dead males inside the Saturn and extricated a female inside the car. She was airlifted to a local hospital for emergency care. All the four occupants were from Fresno County.
"In addition to the complications involved with the pinned in victims, we also had both vehicles come to rest -- one on a telephone poll and the other out in a vineyard. So that makes access difficult for firefighters," said Chris Bump with Fresno County Fire.
Fresno County firefighters also cared for the two people inside the Toyota. CHP says the driver was a 48-year-old male and the passenger was a 56-year-old female. The passenger in the Toyota was airlifted to a local hospital with major injuries. The driver sustained moderate injuries.
At this time, CHP is not sure whether alcohol played a role in the fatal crash, but they say speed was a factor. Because of the severity of the collision, it's unknown if anyone was wearing seat belts.
