Porterville Crash Kills Four — Sep 25, 2016
Four men from Bakersfield lost their lives when their car hit a 2013 Freightliner in a head-on collision approximately 15 miles south of Porterville on September 23, 2016. According to the California Highway Patrol, a black 2005 Chevy Monte Carlo traveling south on Highway 65 near Avenue 32 was driven by a 27-year-old man who tried to pass the car in front of him. When he switched lanes he was in the path of a merchandise truck with a full load which hit him head-on. The truck swerved off the road into an embankment. There were three passengers in the Monte Carlo between the ages of 21 to 40. All were trapped in the car and died from their injuries. The driver died later at an area hospital. The driver of the truck suffered minor injuries. The crash caused the road to be closed on Highway 65 between Highway 155 and Kern County and again at Road 56 near Ducor in Tulare County, the CHP said.