A blown tire caused a Highway 99 crash Saturday evening that took the life of an 8-year-old Turlock girl.
Amalia Perez, 35, of Turlock, was driving a 1999 Ford Explorer southbound on Highway 99 just north of Faith Home Road in the Keyes area when the vehicle started shaking. The California Highway Patrol said the left rear tire blew out. Perez applied her brakes, which caused the vehicle to pull to the right and lost control. The Explorer went off the west side of the freeway and overturned down an embankment.
The girl, Jakeline Sanchez, was not seatbelted and was ejected. She was transported to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto were she succumbed to her injuries.
Perez sustained minor injuries as did her other passenger, Arnufalfo Sanchez, 17, also of Turlock.
The crash occurred at 5:25 p.m.
Amalia Perez, 35, of Turlock, was driving a 1999 Ford Explorer southbound on Highway 99 just north of Faith Home Road in the Keyes area when the vehicle started shaking. The California Highway Patrol said the left rear tire blew out. Perez applied her brakes, which caused the vehicle to pull to the right and lost control. The Explorer went off the west side of the freeway and overturned down an embankment.
The girl, Jakeline Sanchez, was not seatbelted and was ejected. She was transported to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto were she succumbed to her injuries.
Perez sustained minor injuries as did her other passenger, Arnufalfo Sanchez, 17, also of Turlock.
The crash occurred at 5:25 p.m.
