Elk Grove man dies in wrong-way crash on Highway 99 in Merced County
A 21-year-old Elk Grove man died in a wrong-way head-on crash on Highway 99 in Merced County early Monday morning, the California Highway Patrol said.
CHP officers responded to Highway 99 just south of Hammatt Avenue in Livingston around 2:15 a.m., where they found a crash that involved three vehicles.
Officers said an investigation determined the 21-year-old man from Elk Grove was driving a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu sedan the wrong way in the first lane of southbound Highway 99.
A 41-year-old man from San Bernardino was traveling south in a 2020 Toyota Camry sedan in the first lane when officers said the two drivers didn't see each other and crashed.
The Chevrolet veered off to the left toward a big rig in the third lane of southbound Highway 99, where the Chevrolet crashed into the big rig's trailer.
The Elk Grove man died and three passengers, whose ages ranged from 19 to 21, were taken to a hospital with moderate to major injuries, officers said.
The driver of the big rig and the Toyota were not injured and remained at the scene.
It's unknown if DUI was a suspected factor in the crash.
