The fatal collision happened around 5:54 p.m. on July 23 at the intersection of Shaws Flat Road and Highway 49.
Sonora, CA – The four people who were killed Wednesday night in a two-car collision that also left another person injured in Sonora, Tuolumne County, have been identified as Jose Ortacotto, 56, Jose Ortacarmona, 83, Elba Melendezdeorta, 72, and Michelle Cotto Rodriguez, 52, all from Puerto Rico, according to the CHP.
The fatal collision happened around 5:54 p.m. on July 23 at the intersection of Shaws Flat Road and Highway 49.
CHP said Ortacotto was driving a Jeep Grand Cherokee westbound when, for unknown reasons, he stopped at the intersection and then continued directly into the path of a northbound pickup truck, resulting in a collision.
The force of the impact propelled the Jeep into the westbound side and it landed on the westbound shoulder of Highway 49.
Ortacotto and his three passengers, Ortacarmona, Melendezdeorta, and Rodriguez were killed in the collision.
Ortacotto and the front seat passenger were wearing seatbelts, but the two back seat passengers were not.
The pickup truck driver, an 18-year-old Jamestown man, sustained moderate to major injuries in the collision. He was driving at 60 mph at the time of the collision.
Drugs and alcohol were not factors in the collision.
The CHPS is investigating the accident.
Original Story
uolumne County, CA. – Four people died, and another was seriously injured in a car accident that happened Wednesday evening near Sonora.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the wreck occurred just before 6 p.m. on State Route 49 and Shaws Flat Road.
The crash involved a 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee and a Dodge pickup truck.
According to investigators, a 56-year-old Puerto Rico man was driving the Jeep westbound on Shaws Flat Road when he stopped at the stop sign at the intersection with SR-49.
At the same time, an 18-year-old Jamestown man was driving the pickup truck northbound on SR-49 at about 60 mph, approaching the intersection.
Authorities said, for an unknown reason, the Jeep driver came from the stop and continued into the intersection, directly into the path of the pickup truck.
The pickup truck crashed into the left side of the Jeep, pushing it in a northwesterly direction. The car came to a stop on the west shoulder of SR-49.
The driver of the Jeep and his three passengers died in the accident.
The driver of the pickup truck was hospitalized with moderate to major injuries.
Authorities are investigating to determine the cause of the collision.