In two separate accidents, two men died on Sunday, May 6 in the Coalinga area.
One occured on I-5 driving north when a 2017 Ford Mustang being driven by a 31 year old male from College Station, Texas tangled with a Winnebago, driven by Leo Gorospe, 66, of Livingston, Texas. Ida Gorospe, 55, was a passenger in the Winnebago. The Winnebago was hauling a Chevrolet HHR behind it. For some unknown reason, the driver of the Mustang drifted off the pavement on the lefthand side of the freeway as he was parallel with the Winnebago. As the driver corrected his vehicle, it swerved into the Winnebago and both vehicles went off the roadway, traveling down a ravine where the winnebago landed on top of the Mustang. The driver of the Mustang was deceased at the scene. The driver and passenger of the Winnebago were taken to Community Regional Medical Center for treatment of minor injuries.
The second accident was a solo vehicle accident involving a red 2001 Chevy Blazer and occurred north of Coalinga. The Blazer was being driven by a 30 year old man from Coalinga. The vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed, southbound on Kings Avenue, a rural road way between Monterey Avenue and Gale. For some unknown reason, the vehicle drifted east off the road and rolled, ejecting the driver* who was believed not to have been wearing a seatbelt. The driver was deceased at the scene. CHP reports that alcohol may have been a factor in this accident.
CHP continues its investigation into both incidents. Names in both incidents have not yet been released.
*Corrected from an earlier erroneous report in which I stated that there was a passenger who was ejected. Also, in the earlier report, it was poorly worded so that although it was the driver of both incidents who were deceased, there was not a clear distinction between the two. Coalinga Press regrets any confusion.
