Authorities have reported that three California Conservation Corps workers lost their lives in a motor vehicle accident in Fresno County on Feb.2. The workers were killed when the van that they were traveling in was struck by a fully laden dump truck at the intersection of East South Avenue and Buttonwillow Avenue in Reedley at approximately 8:15 a.m.
According to a California Highway Patrol report, the van was transporting a crew of conservation workers to a job site at the time of the crash. Officers say that the van came to a stop as required before proceeding into the intersection. Police said that the dump truck had the right of way and did not appear to have been exceeding the posted 55 mph speed limit when it struck the side of the van. While no charges were filed in the immediate aftermath of the car accident, officers pointed out that investigations into the incident were ongoing.
The conservation corps workers killed in the van and truck crash where an 18-year-old woman, a 20-year-old woman, and a 21-year-old man. Paramedics transported a further two injured workers and a conservation corps supervisor to medical facilities in Fresno and Visalia.
Most motor vehicle accidents involve some form of human error, and personal injury attorneys may scrutinize police reports and other official documents to understand the sequence of events and determine which motorists acted negligently. When these sources are inconclusive, attorneys may decide to conduct further investigations. These efforts could involve seeking out witnesses that the police did not speak to and checking to see if there are any security cameras in the vicinity that may have captured the events in question.
Source: The Fresno Bee, 3 California Conservation Corps members killed in Reedley-area crash, Staff report, Feb. 2, 2016