A 32-year-old woman from Madera was killed Thursday night when her car crossed into oncoming traffic on Highway 145 near Avenue 10, slamming into a southbound big rig, while a 3-month-old infant riding in her backseat was airlifted to the hospital as a precaution. The California Highway Patrol said alcohol is suspected to have played a role in the crash.
According to ABC30, the woman was driving a 2020 Kia Forte north on Highway 145 when it crossed into the opposing lane directly into the path of a Freightliner heading south. She was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the Kia, and she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The infant was airlifted to Valley Children's Hospital as a precaution and had no visible injuries, according to KMPH. The outlet reports the baby was riding in a car seat in the Kia's backseat but was not properly restrained, per CHP. The Freightliner's driver was not hurt, and the station notes the investigation remained ongoing.
A Stretch of Highway With a Grim Recent History
Thursday's wreck is the latest in a string of serious crashes along Highway 145 in Madera County this year. In March, a three-vehicle crash near Highways 41 and 145 killed two people, after a Dodge Challenger driver overcorrected, crossed into opposing traffic and struck a Honda CR-V, which was then hit by a westbound Honda Accord, the Fresno Bee reported. That crash killed Marcos Hernandez Perez, 26, of Madera, and Leslany Santoyo, 23, of Merced, and seriously injured another driver.
Earlier in January, a crash on Highway 145 near Highway 41 hospitalized three people, and one person — a 77-year-old woman riding as a passenger in a car attempting a U-turn across the highway — died the following day, the same outlet reported. A separate crash at the Cottonwood Creek bridge, in which a northbound sedan drifted off the road, hit a guardrail and bounced back into the southbound lane before slamming into an oncoming van, sent four people to the hospital, according to ABC30. That impact split the sedan in two, with half of the vehicle landing in the creek and leaving its driver and passenger with major injuries.
CHP has not released further details on the condition of the infant beyond the initial hospital evaluation, and the investigation into Thursday's crash remains active.
