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Saturday Night Crash Results In One Fatality
chp

Rainy conditions and unsafe speed combined to cause a deadly crash outside Oakdale on Saturday night, Jan. 7.

California Highway Patrol officers out of Modesto investigated the crash, which was reported about 7:10 p.m. along State Route 120, east of Lancaster Road near Lover’s Leap. The area is a few miles east of Oakdale.

It was a solo vehicle accident and resulted in the death of the driver. He was identified as Enriqjames Wilson, 23, and the CHP listed him as being a Sonora resident. His identity was released through the Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office.

According to the CHP report, Wilson was driving a 2000 Audi westbound on Highway 120 and crossed in to the eastbound lane to pass another vehicle. He was going about 70 miles per hour at the time of the crash, CHP officers said.

The preliminary investigation indicated that the driver’s unsafe speed in the rainy conditions and with a wet roadway, caused the Audi to hydroplane and veer to the left. The vehicle left the roadway and overturned. Wilson, who was not wearing his seatbelt, was ejected from the vehicle. He sustained major injuries as a result of the crash and was taken to Doctors Medical Center via air ambulance but succumbed to his injuries.

There were two passengers in the vehicle, said the CHP report, and both were wearing their seatbelts and sustained relatively minor injuries. They were listed as a 27-year-old man from Sonora and a 19-year-old man, also from Sonora. Neither one was transported.

It was unknown at the time of the initial investigation whether alcohol or drugs were a factor in the crash.