June 4 deadly forklift versus SUV accident in Merced County

On June 4 a man died after he drove his Chevy Tahoe into a forklift on Van Clief Road near Stevinson in Merced County. According to reports the Tahoe was southbound on Van Clief Road near First Avenue when it came upon the forklift. The forklift was facing west in the southbound lane that the Tahoe was in while it was loading things into a flatbed truck that was parked on the west shoulder of the road. By the time the driver of the Tahoe saw the forklift it was too late for him to avoid hitting it. The Tahoe hit the forklift and then turned over. The driver of the Tahoe was not wearing a seat belt at the time of the accident. He was thrown from the vehicle and died at the scene of the accident. A teenage passenger in the Tahoe was treated at a local hospital for a broken femur. The driver of the forklift escaped the accident uninjured.