A woman was killed on southbound Highway 99 in Madera County Thursday after a driver struck her and sped off without stopping, according to the California Highway Patrol. Officers found her body on the right shoulder after callers reported someone lying in the slow lane.
CHP received the report of a person down in the southbound lanes and Madera officers responded to the scene, according to KMPH Fox 26. Investigators believe the woman was hit by an unknown vehicle while she was in the southbound lanes, and CHP said the driver left without offering help or calling 911. The investigation remains ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact the Madera CHP office at (559) 507-8120.
Separate preliminary reporting on the crash indicated that emergency responders located the woman's body on the right shoulder after callers phoned in reports of someone lying in the slow lane of southbound Highway 99, according to Funeral Tribune. No vehicle description or suspect details had been released as of Friday, and the identity of the victim has not been made public.
What California Law Says About Leaving the Scene
Under California Vehicle Code Section 20001, leaving the scene of a crash that results in death or permanent, serious injury is a wobbler offense that prosecutors can charge as a felony, carrying two, three, or four years in state prison along with fines between $1,000 and $10,000, according to FindLaw. California's jury instructions also make clear that a driver's duty to stop and render aid applies regardless of who caused the crash in the first place. CALCRIM Jury Instruction No. 2140 requires drivers to stop immediately and offer reasonable assistance in an injury or fatal collision even if the driver was not legally at fault for the initial impact, per Justia.
There are also financial consequences tied to how quickly a hit-and-run gets reported. California Insurance Code Section 11580.2 requires hit-and-run incidents to be reported to law enforcement within 24 hours in order to preserve statutory uninsured motorist coverage claims for victims and their families, according to Wunderli Injury Law.
A Deadly Stretch of Highway
The crash adds to a troubling safety record along this Central Valley corridor. An analysis of California collision data identified State Route 99 as California's deadliest highway per 100 miles, averaging 89 fatalities and nearly 400 total crashes annually, according to CBS News. Madera County is also part of the Central Valley corridor facing highway safety concerns.
Freeway safety concerns in Madera County have surfaced repeatedly in recent months. In August, CHP officers arrested a driver after she attempted to enter northbound Highway 99 going the wrong direction from the Avenue 20 1/2 off-ramp, with officers reporting her blood alcohol level at three times the legal limit, according to GV Wire. And in December 2025, a fatal collision on southbound Highway 99 near Avenue 11 in Madera County blocked the southbound number two lane, GV Wire and KSEE reported at the time.
Statewide Road Safety Concerns
Statewide, pedestrian and motor vehicle fatalities remain a broader road-safety concern.
The case echoes other recent hit-and-run tragedies along the Highway 99 corridor. Hoodline previously reported on a fatal Turlock crash in which a hit-and-run driver died after slamming a transit bus into a house near Highway 99 in the neighboring Central Valley region. CHP's investigation into Thursday's crash remains active, and officers are continuing to seek information from the public as they work to identify the driver who fled.
