A total of four accidents in and around Turlock over the last several days have resulted in one death and multiple injuries.
The name of the lone fatality has not been released pending next of kin notification.
The first crash happened around 11:30 p.m. Saturday on Crows Landing Road, near Bradbury Road, between Turlock and Patterson.
Timothy Rahe, 41, of Modesto was driving a 1996 Kawasaki motorcycle northbound on Crows Landing Road. Marie Pinheiro, 61, of Denair was driving a 1998 Pontiac Grand Am southbound on Crows Landing Road.
According to the California Highway Patrol, Pinheiro didn’t see the motorcycle and turned left on Bradbury, directly into the path of the motorcycle.
The front of the Pontiac hit the front of the motorcycle and ejected Rahe.
Rahe sustained major injuries and was taken by ambulance to Doctors Medical Center, the CHP reported.
Pinheiro and her 14-year-old female passenger both had minor injuries and were taken to Emanuel Medical Center.
Alcohol and drugs did not appear to be a factor in the collision.
The second wreck happened around 5 p.m. Monday on Highway 99 in Delhi and involved a head-on collision with a big rig.
The details of the multi-vehicle wreck were still being sorted out by the CHP. The wreck was caused by the driver of a Chevrolet Silverado that was traveling in the southbound lanes of the highway. For an unknown reason the driver allowed the vehicle to cross over the center divider, near Bradbury Road, and enter into the northbound lanes.
The Silverado hit four vehicles, including a big rig, the CHP reported. The impact set the big rig on fire and caused the closure of the northbound lanes for about two hours.
The collision remains under investigation.
A little more than four hours later the CHP was investigating a fatal collision on Oakdale Road, north of East Avenue in the Ballico area.
The solo collision took the life of a 25-year-old man from Merced.
The man was driving a 1993 Acura Integra southbound on Oakdale Road. The vehicle drifted off the dirt shoulder before the driver veered back onto the road.
The driver lost control and the vehicle left the road on the east side and overturned several times before hitting two almond trees.
The driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
The final collision was reported at 8:30 a.m. Tuesday on Central Avenue, north of Roberts Road in Turlock.
Jerry Joe Bond, was driving a 1995 Ford van northbound on Central, when for an unknown reason his vehicle left the road and struck a tree.
Bond was taken to EMC for treatment of his injuries.
“It is unclear why he left the roadway, but a prior medical condition is being investigated as a possible cause of this collision,” said CHP spokesman Officer Eric Parsons.