One Killed, Two Injured in Wheeler Ridge Head On Crash

KERN COUNTY, CA – A passenger was killed and two drivers were injured Friday evening in a head-on collision between a pickup truck and an SUV on Wheeler Ridge Road south of Lamont, the California Highway Patrol said.

Officers responded at about 6:44 p.m. Oct. 9 to Wheeler Ridge Road at Creekside Drive. A CHP preliminary account identified the vehicles as a 2012 Toyota Tacoma traveling south and a 2016 Honda CR-V traveling north. Both were approaching Creekside Drive at undetermined speeds.

CHP said the Toyota’s driver made an unsafe turning movement. The pickup went out of control, crossed the broken yellow center lines and entered the northbound lane, where it collided with the Honda. The preliminary account did not describe what prompted the turn or state whether the Toyota driver had been trying to enter another road or driveway.

The Toyota driver, an Arvin resident, suffered moderate injuries. The Honda driver suffered severe injuries. Emergency medical personnel pronounced the Honda’s right-front passenger dead at the scene, according to CHP. The passenger died before any hospital transport. Authorities did not release the passenger’s identity in the report.

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Impairment Under Investigation

Investigators said alcohol or drugs appeared to have contributed to the crash. That assessment was preliminary, and the public account did not identify which driver investigators suspected of impairment. It also did not report a citation, arrest or chemical-test result.

The initial findings described a specific sequence before impact: the Toyota lost control after the unsafe movement, crossed the center markings and entered the Honda’s lane. CHP had not released a final reconstruction or explained whether speed, visibility, road conditions or another factor also contributed.

CHP described the speeds of both vehicles as undetermined. The agency’s account therefore separated its preliminary finding about the Toyota’s turning movement from questions about how fast either vehicle was traveling. It did not describe braking or other evasive action by either driver before the head-on impact.

Every occupant identified in the preliminary report was injured or killed. The account distinguished moderate injuries to the pickup driver from severe injuries to the SUV driver, while the front passenger in the SUV died at the scene. It did not provide later medical updates for either surviving driver.

CHP continued to investigate the crash and asked anyone with information to contact the agency’s Bakersfield Area office at 661-396-6600. The agency had not announced later updates on the injured drivers’ conditions. The investigation remained open.