26-year-old killed, 11-month-old child injured in accident near Modesto

A 26-year-old Ceres man died, an 11-month-old child was taken to a hospital by rescue helicopter with serious injuries and four others were injured in a multi-vehicle crash on Highway 132 west of Modesto on Saturday, the California Highway Patrol said.

The accident was reported just before 1 p.m. east of South River Road near Vernalis.

According to the CHP's preliminary investigation, the 26-year-old driver of a Honda sedan was traveling eastbound on the highway and partially crossed the double yellow line for an unknown reason, according to the CHP. The car then struck the side of a Honda SUV. The SUV then struck a Toyota sedan head-on. Another driver braked to avoid the crash and was struck from behind by the fifth driver.

The 11-month-old child in the Toyota was flown by helicopter to UC Davis Medical Center with serious injuries, CHP said. Others injured had minor injuries.

Highway 132 was closed until 3:10 p.m.

It is not known whether drugs or alcohol contributed to the accident.

This story was curated by Hearst's KCRA Alert Desk.

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