A 26-year-old Oakdale driver was killed in a solo Fourth of July crash in rural Ceres, the second such crash in less than a week in that area.

The deadly crash occurred at approximately 11:34 p.m. on Central Avenue north of E. Taylor Road south of Ceres. The California Highway Patrol reported that Charles Gilstrap was northbound on Central Avenue in a 1998 Pontiac when for some unknown reason the car drifted off the road onto the right shoulder and hit a wooden utility pole. The car continued in a northeasterly direction into a corn field where it overturned. Gilstrap was ejected and came to rest in the field where he was pronounced dead by emergency medical personnel.

It's unknown if alcohol and/or drugs were a contributing factor in this collision.

The crash was similar to one that occurred on Carpenter Road in rural Ceres on Monday, July 2. In that crash 21-year-old Modestan Alverto Rodriguez died when his 1995 Honda Civic veered to the right and crashed into the concrete wall of a bridge over a canal north of Monte Vista Avenue. Rodriguez’s car then landed in the canal, partially submerged in water. The CHP ruled out alcohol or drugs in the 4:50 p.m. solo crash.