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Turlock woman dies in Fresno crash
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A Turlock woman was killed early Sunday morning in an auto accident on Highway 99 in Fresno that also injured three others.
The Fresno County Coroner’s Office identified the deceased as 21-year-old Guadalupe Regalado. According to the California Highway Patrol, a series of accidents on the highway led to Regalado’s death.
Regalado was one of five women traveling through Fresno around 2:45 a.m. Sunday on northbound 99 in a 2002 Ford Mustang. The Mustang was traveling in the slow lane at an unknown speed when the driver, Christine Naranjo, 23, of Delhi, lost control of the vehicle around the Clinton Avenue exit.
The vehicle skidded across the other two lanes and slammed into a concrete center divider.
The Mustang came to a rest in the fast lane. Naranjo and the right front passenger, Ariceli Regalado of Turlock, age unknown, were able to exit the vehicle, but the remaining three passengers were still inside the Mustang when it was hit by an oncoming car.
According to the CHP, Carlos Munoz, 36, of Watsonville was driving a 1995 Toyota Corolla northbound in the fast lane at about 65 mph. Munoz was unable to avoid the Mustang in front of him and the Toyota collided with the left front of the Mustang. The impact sent the Mustang spinning across the fast lane and into the middle lane, where it came to a stop facing west.
According to the CHP report, the three remaining passengers, including Regalado, had just exited the vehicle when a 2007 Freightliner tractor-trailer collided with the Mustang, hitting Regalado as well. She was struck by both the big rig and the Mustang and died at the scene, according to the CHP.
The two other rear passengers, 19-year-old Lelianna Apodaca and 18-year-old Crystal Andrade, hometowns unknown, both suffered major injuries from the collisions and were transported to the Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno.
The big rig driver, Bryan Miller, 53, of Tulare, along with Munoz and his passenger, 24-year-old Christina Munoz, and Naranjo all escaped the pile-up without injuries. Ariceli Regalado had minor injuries and was also taken to the hospital, according to the CHP.
The northbound lanes of Highway 99 were closed for about four hours for the investigation and the cleanup.
The collision remains under investigation.
To contact Sabra Stafford, e-mail sstafford@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2002.