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Kern County Sheriff's Office identifies drivers killed in semi-truck crash

Fatal Accident (FILE)
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BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The Kern County Sheriff's Office has released the names of the two drivers that were killed in an accident on Interstate 5, south of Twissleman Road on Monday.

According to KCSO, 44-year-old Manuel Velasquez Garcia of Montclair, CA and 54-year-old Ricardo Gomez Perez of Healdsburg, CA were killed when their semi-trucks collided.

CHP said a preliminary investigation found that a 2014 Freightliner traveling on northbound I-5, for an unknown reason, crossed the dirt center median and hit a 2009 Kenworth head-on. The crash caused both vehicles and their cargo to spill out onto southbound lanes of I-5 and partially into the No. 1 northbound lane, said CHP.

KCSO did not identify which man was driving which vehicle.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.



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