Big rig driver from Sacramento killed in Highway 99 crash involving DUI suspect
MERCED – A big rig driver has died after a crash involving a DUI suspect in Merced late Monday night.
California Highway Patrol says the crash happened just before 11:30 p.m. on southbound Highway 99, near O Street.
Officers say an SUV driver was apparently trying to pass the big rig, which was pulling a set of double trailers, on the narrow right shoulder of the freeway. The smaller vehicle then got wedged between the big rig and the guard rail.
This caused the big rig to jackknife, officers say. The big rig then overturned down a steep embankment – pinning the driver in the cab.
First responders tried to extricate the big rig driver, but CHP says he was pronounced dead at the scene. The name of the driver hasn't been released, but officers say he was a 55-year-old Sacramento resident.
The SUV driver, identified by CHP as 35-year-old Ceres resident Anthony Carrasco, was eventually arrested on suspicion of DUI.
