A three-car crash involving a University of California, Merced CatTracks bus injured four on the morning of Thursday, September 12th. The chain reaction crash occurred after a vehicle failed to stop at a stop sign.
The accident occurred around 11 a.m. on Lake Road at Dunn Road near UC Merced. According to authorities, a Dodge Caravan driving east on Dunn Road ran a stop sign at the intersection with Lake road. A Toyota Scion heading north on Lake Road, driven by Samuel Chan of Merced, 20, swerved to avoid a collision with the Caravan, driven by Ariel Escobar of Merced, 51. Chan left the road and lost control of his vehicle, colliding with the front of the CatTracks bus and then into a tree. The bus left the road and hit a cement barrier.
Chan was flown to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto with serious injuries. The bus driver, Frank Medina of Merced, 35, and two passengers reported minor injuries. The bus was carrying six passengers at the time of the incident. While the Dodge was not directly involved in the crashes, Escobar was taken to Mercy Medical Center after he reported not feeling well.
The crash is under investigation, but authorities do not believe that drugs or alcohol were a factor in the accident.
