Las Vegas Man Killed in Multi-Vehicle Crash on I-5 Near Coalinga

A 49-year-old man from Las Vegas was killed just before 3 a.m. Sunday when his gray Nissan veered off southbound Interstate 5 near the Highway 33 interchange outside Coalinga, triggering a three-vehicle crash that left him dead at the scene, the California Highway Patrol said.

Officers say the Las Vegas man was driving the gray Nissan south on I-5 when he veered off the road, hitting the back of a Toyota Prius that was stopped on the right shoulder. The collision did not end there. The impact sent the Nissan spinning across lanes and into the number one lane of the interstate, where a third vehicle struck it. The Nissan's driver was pronounced dead at the scene. No one else involved was injured.

The stretch of I-5 near the Highway 33 junction sits in the remote western edge of Fresno County, roughly 60 miles southwest of the city of Fresno in the flatlands approaching the Diablo Range. Traffic on that corridor moves fast through the night, and a stopped vehicle on the shoulder in the dark creates an acute hazard for any driver who drifts off the travel lanes.

CHP officers from the Coalinga-area responded to the scene and are leading the investigation. The victim's name had not been released as of publication, pending notification of next of kin. No other drivers or occupants in the Prius or the third vehicle were reported injured, and no arrests or citations were mentioned by authorities.

The cause of the initial drift off the roadway, whether fatigue, impairment, speed, or a mechanical issue, has not been publicly identified as CHP continues its investigation.