A driver died and another was rushed to the hospital with major injuries after a crash near Clovis and Central in Fresno County just after 9:30 p.m. Sunday, and the California Highway Patrol is still trying to determine what caused it. The wreck also triggered an unexpected delay for first responders when a helicopter dispatched to the scene broke down, shutting down Clovis Avenue for hours.
According to ABC30, a driver of a PT Cruiser headed southbound crossed the center median into the northbound lanes and collided with a white Mercedes. The PT Cruiser driver died at the scene, while the Mercedes driver was taken to the hospital with major injuries, the station reports.
A conflicting account complicates the picture of exactly which vehicles were involved. A fatality listing on the CHP incident feed, chpfatal.com, places the crash at South Clovis Avenue and East Central Avenue and describes the vehicles as a white Mercedes and a Tesla rather than the PT Cruiser cited in the ABC30 report. The discrepancy between the two accounts has not been resolved.
Helicopter Trouble Added Hours to the Scene
Beyond the collision itself, the response effort hit its own snag. A helicopter arrived at the crash scene but experienced maintenance issues once it got there, according to the same ABC30 report. Those mechanical problems ended up blocking Clovis Avenue for several hours until crews got the aircraft repaired, further prolonging the closure for drivers in the area.
As of Monday, the cause of the crash remains under investigation, per the station's report. No additional details on the drivers involved or a determination of fault have been released.
