On Tuesday morning, more than a dozen crashes occurred around the Central Valley due to dense fog.
The California Highway Patrol reports a fatal crash near Selma in Fresno County due to foggy weather.
The accident occurred around 9:30 a.m. at Parlier and McCall.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the man in the pickup truck appears to have driven out from a stop sign on Parlier Avenue and ended up in front of a large truck heading on McCall.
“That large rig hit the pickup truck’s front end. CHP Officer Mike Salas stated that the right front of the semi was pulling the vehicle about 100 feet through the intersection.
The pickup truck caught fire.
Investigators suspect the morning’s severe fog played a part in the accident. “Even as I was rolling up, it was about 100 feet of visibility,” Salas added.
The driver of the Chevy was ejected and pronounced dead on the spot. A passerby took the woman in his passenger seat from the truck and sent her to the hospital with moderate injuries.
The semi’s driver did not sustain any injuries. “We’ve had over a dozen fog-related crashes not only on our local freeways but our county roads and streets,” stated Salas.
One of the twelve crashes occurred just down the road from the fatal accident.
According to the CHP, at about 8:40 a.m., a tractor-trailer was attempting a U-turn at the junction of McCall and American when a van impacted its left side.
“A second tractor-trailer driving southbound on McCall impacted the other side of the tractor-trailer that was across the lanes,” CHP officer Ericka Islas said.
The van driver received minor injuries.
According to authorities, fog and speed were factors in the incident. The California Highway Patrol is once again advising all drivers to use caution in the high fog.
“Reduce your speed, leave some space between you and the automobile in front of you, and, above all, switch on your headlights. “You want to make yourself known,” Salas explained.
“If you need to slow down, or postpone your travel, do so. If you have to roll down your windows to hear incoming traffic, do so.