Neighbors say 'tricky' intersection contributed to deadly crash on Fresno County road

FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. (KFSN) -- Like many other deadly rural crashes, Tuesday night's crash near Kerman happened on a seldom traveled road where there are no traffic lights.

"I heard the fire trucks, I heard the sirens and everything, I saw the city police department," said neighbor Vince Sierras.

California Highway Patrol officers say a 30-year-old man driving a Jeep Cherokee didn't have the right of way.

He entered the intersection, collided with a Chevy Camaro, and since he wasn't wearing a seatbelt, he flew out of his car.

He died before the ambulance arrived.

"Traveling out in the county isn't that safe even when you do have marking on the roadway," said Sgt. Joseph Bianchi with the CHP.

Neighbors say that was the problem here.

There were no other markings, only a yellow sign indicating this was a "T" intersection.

Neighbors say with no stop sign, it throws a lot of drivers off.

"You come to an intersection with a "T" like this, you're not exactly going to know you have to stop," said Sierras.

CHP officers say they are still investigating if drugs or alcohol played a role here, as well as if the intersection could have used additional warnings.

"Typically there is a stop sign, so we are looking at it a bit further," said Sgt. Bianchi.

Action News called Fresno County Roads officials. They said they've already been notified of the deadly crash.

The department will now likely conduct a traffic study to see if changes need to be made.