Pedestrian Dead after Truck Driver Fails to See Her

August 6, 2010

Turlock – A 31-year-old woman was killed after walking into the path of a pickup truck Thursday night, authorities said.

According to the CHP, Jose Garcia, 51, was driving a 1994 Ford F-150 at the speed of 40 to 50 mph. He was approaching the 6000 block of South Central, south of West Bradbury Road, at 8:50 p.m.

The pickup was going north when at the same time, the woman, April J. Chaves from Modesto, crossed the road from the west side and was hit. Garcia apparently didn’t realize that he hit someone and just continued to drive.

Fortunately, someone witnessed the accident and tracked down Garcia. The driver returned to the scene. Emergency crews arrived around 9 p.m. but Chaves died before 9:30.

Garcia, along with two other passengers in the truck, was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol, according to the CHP.

Chaves is the third victim of a pedestrian accident that happened in Stanislaus County in the span of less than a month.