Truck, car collide head-on, killing 5
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OAKDALE, CALIF. — Five people were killed Thursday when a pickup truck collided head-on with their car on a San Joaquin Valley road, the California Highway Patrol said.
The truck’s driver, Justin Chase Christensen, 26, was the only survivor. He was hospitalized with major injuries.
CHP Officer John Martinez said Christensen was arrested and the CHP will recommend to prosecutors that he be charged with driving under the influence of drugs and with five counts of vehicular manslaughter.
Tests conducted at the hospital found drugs in Christensen’s blood, Martinez said, but he didn’t know how much or what kind.
The five people killed had not been identified late Thursday, and investigators did not know whether they were related, Martinez said. All five were pronounced dead at the scene.
Christensen’s Dodge pickup and the car -- a 1990s model Mazda -- collided just after 6 a.m. on Valley Home Road between Oakdale and Escalon, about 10 miles northeast of Modesto, Martinez said. A fire engulfed both vehicles, he added.
Martinez said the manslaughter charges could be upgraded to homicide, depending on results of the crash investigation.
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