A Ceres big-rig driver escaped injury early Wednesday morning, July 9 when his tractor-trailer rig was sideswiped near Los Banos in a major injury crash.

Kanwer Waraich, 36, of Ceres, was driving a 2003 Freightliner northbound on Highway 165 near Santa Fe Grade when a southbound motorist drifted into his lane. Daniel Scott Campos, 22, of Hollister, allowed his 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix to drift into the big-rig prior to 12:35 a.m. The Pontiac then spun out of control and was struck by a second northbound big-rig, a 2009 Freightliner driven by 56-year-old Modesto driver Santiago Sandoval. Sandoval's tractor-trailer rig lost control and careened off the roadway, and struck a utility pole before catching fire.

Neither the Ceres nor Modesto truck drivers were injured.
Campos sustained major injuries and was rushed to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto for treatment of his injuries.

The California Highway Patrol is investigating the crash in an effort to determine why Campos crossed the center line.