An Oakdale woman was arrested following a deadly vehicle crash into a canal on Saturday night, March 8.

The crash occurred in the Hickman area, near the intersection of Arlberg Road and Canal Bank Road.

About 11:05 p.m., the California Highway Patrol (CHP) received a call of a traffic crash. Emergency personnel arrived on scene and located a Subaru SUV submerged in an irrigation canal paralleling Canal Bank Road. The driver of the Subaru, identified as Juliette Acosta, 26, from Oakdale, was located at the scene. Her four-year-old daughter was later transported from the scene by ground ambulance to Memorial Medical Center.

Unfortunately, noted the CHP report, the child succumbed to her injuries. Acosta was not injured in the crash.

The preliminary CHP investigation indicates Acosta was traveling southbound on Arlberg Road, approaching Canal Bank Road and the irrigation canal. She allowed the Subaru to leave the east road edge, sideswiping a wooden telephone pole. The Subaru continued in a southerly direction, crossed over Canal Bank Road, before proceeding up the canal embankment. The Subaru entered the waterway. Acosta’s uncle, who lived nearby, heard the collision and ran to the scene. He was able to extricate his niece from the Subaru. However, Acosta’s daughter remained in the fully submerged vehicle. A Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Deputy arrived on scene and, without hesitation, entered the frigid water and rescued Acosta’s daughter with assistance from her uncle.

Authorities said Acosta displayed objective signs of intoxication and was subsequently placed under arrest for felony DUI by the CHP. She was booked into the Stanislaus County Public Safety Center.