6-year-old girl, teenage boy killed in Madera County crash

MADERA COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – A 6-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy died, and four others were injured after a van crashed with a big rig Saturday evening, the California Highway Patrol announced.

At about 6 p.m. officers responded to a report of a two-vehicle collision near Road 24 and Avenue 7, west of Ripperdan.

Investigators reported a big rig hauling two trailers was headed westbound on Avenue 7 just as a van, with five occupants, was headed southbound on Road 24, approaching a stop sign.

For reasons yet to be determined, CHP says the driver of the van ran the stop sign and entered the road directly in the path of the oncoming big rig. The van was broadsided, and two victims, a 6-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy, were ejected.

Officers reported the boy sustained fatal injuries on scene, whereas the girl sustained major injuries and was transported to Valley Children’s Hospital before she was pronounced deceased.

Investigators report the three other adults in the van, along with the driver of the big rig, were transported to a local hospital with moderate to major injuries.

CHP does not suspect alcohol or drugs to be a factor in the collision.

The two children have not been officially identified.