Ceres man killed, 2 other Stanislaus residents hurt in Tuolumne County crash, CHP reports

A Ceres man was killed Friday morning in a crash on Highway 120 east of Knights Ferry in Tuolumne County, the California Highway Patrol reports. The two-vehicle collision happened about 7:25 a.m. east of La Grange Road.

The Ceres man, 54, was driving a 2014 Buick sedan east, with passenger Vicki Rasmussen, 66, of Ceres. Turlock resident Erich Heinrichs, 67, was westbound, driving a 2020 Hino tank truck.

For undetermined reasons, the Ceres driver allowed the Buick to travel over the highway’s painted solid double yellow lines, directly into the truck’s path, the CHP says. The vehicles crashed head-on.

Heinrichs and Rasmussen suffered serious injuries and were taken by ambulance to medical centers. Heinrichs was treated at Adventist Health Sonora and Rasmussen at Memorial Medical Center in Modesto.

The driver of the Buick died at the scene. His identity was withheld pending family notification.

All three were wearing seat belts, according to the CHP, and it was unknown as of Monday afternoon if drugs or alcohol factored in the crash.