A pre-dawn Memorial Day crash on Highway 132 in Modesto left a 28-year-old Waterford man dead after his pickup veered off the roadway near McEwen Road and smashed into a telephone pole, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officers were called to the scene just before 1:30 AM, where they found the pickup on the eastbound shoulder and the driver had been ejected from the vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Investigators say he was not wearing a seat belt. The CHP has identified him only as a 28-year-old Waterford resident and has not yet released his name, CBS Sacramento reported.
The circumstances that sent the truck off the highway are still unclear, and officials have not said whether speed, impairment, or any other factor may have played a role.
Seat Belts and Ejection Risk
The CHP’s note that the driver was unrestrained points to a grim reality that traffic investigators see far too often. Being thrown from a vehicle is rarely survivable, while a basic click of the belt can make a life-or-death difference.
According to the NHTSA, seat belts cut the risk of fatal injury for people in passenger cars by about 45 percent and have saved thousands of lives. The agency stresses that ejection in a crash is almost always deadly and that buckling up is one of the simplest ways to stay inside the vehicle and survive, especially on higher speed rural corridors where single-vehicle run-off-road wrecks are common.
Investigation Continuing
CHP traffic officers are continuing to examine the scene and the wreckage to piece together what led up to the crash. As of this morning, no additional details had been released and the investigation remained active, according to CBS Sacramento.
