SLO County man killed in Highway 101 crash after car has tire failure, overturns
A San Miguel man died in a pickup truck crash north of Paso Robles on Wednesday afternoon after his vehicle overturned, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The 38-year-old man was driving a 2003 Nissan Frontier northbound on Highway 101 north of North Monterey Road at about 12:38 p.m., “when it appears the vehicle may have experienced a tire failure,” the CHP said in a news release.
The man applied his brakes and steered left, which caused the Nissan to cross the northbound lanes and the dirt median, the CHP said.
The truck then moved from the median to the southbound lanes, overturned and came to rest on its roof, the release said.
The driver was “partially pinned” under the truck during the crash, the CHP said.
Emergency personnel responded and transported the driver by air ambulance to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo, where he was pronounced dead, the release said.
The CHP has not yet identified the driver, pending family notification.
Two other passengers were in the truck at the time of the crash: Maricela Vasquez, 37, and Raul Gonzalez, 22, both of San Miguel.
Vasquez sustained a broken arm and likely a broken shoulder in the crash, the CHP said, and emergency responders transported her to Sierra Vista in an ambulance for treatment.
Gonzalez “had a minor complaint of pain” and received treatment at the scene of the crash, the CHP said.
The crash remains under investigation, but preliminary findings “did not reveal any indications of drug or alcohol influence or any indications of driver inattention, such as cell phone use,” the CHP said in its release.
