The California Highway Patrol is looking for the occupants of a white car after a deadly weekend hit-and-run accident in northwest Madera. The California Highway Patrol says they got a 911 call about the crash around 1:45 a.m. on Sunday morning, August 14, 2022.
KFSN-TV reports the incident happened along Highway 99 near Avenue 16. When investigators arrived on the scene they found a blue van and a white car. Neither vehicle had anyone inside. It appeared that the van had been struck from behind by a white car. After the impact, the van overturned and rammed a pole.
Tragically, officers located a man’s body nearby. A witness reported seeing several people run away from the scene of the crash after it happened.
CHP investigators continue to work to determine the circumstances surrounding the crash and to find the occupants of the vehicle.
Car Accident Dangers in Madera
After the sun goes down on Madera roads and highways, the traffic dangers don’t lessen all that much. In fact, in some cases, the chances of encountering a careless driver and being forced into a collision get even worse.
Transportation officials recorded 742 traffic accidents involving injury in Madera County in 2021. Those accidents left a tragic 36 people dead. Nearly a third of those accidents occurred at night, or at dusk or dawn. And, shockingly, 23 of the Madera County traffic fatalities took place at night in 2021, meaning that around two-thirds of traffic deaths in the county occurred after the sun had gone down.
When the drivers responsible for these accidents decide to leave the scene to avoid taking responsibility, they become another statistic of California’s widespread hit-and-run driver problem.
Yet, it’s much more than a statistic for the families of victims who must grieve while also facing the incredible costs that arise after a tragedy. They can wonder how to seek justice when the drivers at-fault remain unidentified.
A word for families after a hit-and-run accident…
If a loved one has been the victim of a hit-and-run accident in the Central Valley, you should be aware of the benefits available to you and your family through an insurance claim. Financial support is often available to families even when a hit-and-run driver isn’t located.
You can read more about these cases on my page about tragic car accidents in and around Madera.