Update: Four Killed In Crash On Highway 49 In Sonora
Update at 10:15 am: The Tuolumne County Coroner has released the names of the four fatal victims involved in the Wednesday evening crash at Highway 49 and Shaws Flat Road. They were all from Puerto Rico. They include 56-year-old Jose Ortacotto, 83-year-old Jose Ortacarmona, 72-year-old Elba Melendezdeorta, and 52-year-old Michelle Cotto Rodrguez.
Original story posted at 6:17 am: Sonora, CA — The CHP reports that four people died in a two-vehicle crash on Wednesday evening at the intersection of Highway 49 and Shaws Flat Road.
A 56 year-old unidentified man from Puerto Rico was driving a 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee westbound at Shaws Flat Road and came to a stop at the stop sign at the Highway 49 intersection. For an unknown reason he pulled out directly into the path of an oncoming 2003 Dodge Ram 2500 pickup truck driven by an unidentified 18-year-old Jamestown man. The CHP notes that the truck was traveling about 60 mph. The front of the Dodge hit the Jeep and propelled it in a northwesterly direction.
The driver and the three passengers in the Jeep died in the crash. The driver of the Dodge suffered “moderate to major” injuries. The CHP adds that alcohol/drugs are not suspected to be a factor in the incident. Details surrounding the crash are still under investigation. It happened shortly before 6 pm.
