LOS BANOS, CA — On September 08, 2024, at approximately 12:25 am, Merced Communications Center received a call of a traffic crash involving two vehicles in the area of Nees Avenue and Oxford Avenue. Officers from the California Highway Patrol Los Banos Area Office responded to the scene.
Preliminary investigation indicates a Juvenile male of Westley, CA was driving a 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe westbound on Nees Avenue west of Oxford Avenue at a stated speed of 60 miles per hour. At the same time, Mr. Cristo J. Ochoa-Torres, age 21, of Mendota, CA, was driving a 2014 Toyota Sienna eastbound on Nees Avenue west of Oxford Avenue, approaching the Chevrolet Tahoe, at a stated speed of 58 mile per hour. For reasons unknown, the Juvenile male allowed the Chevrolet to turn to the left, causing the Chevrolet to travel westbound, in the eastbound lane of Nees Avenue. This caused the front of the Chevrolet to collide head-on with the Toyota. The drivers and occupants of both vehicles were restrained. The drivers and passengers of both vehicles were transported to local hospitals.
Alcohol and/or drugs were not a factor in this crash.
For further information contact the Los Banos Area Public Information Officer at (209) 826-3811.
