CHP identifies Creston man killed in Highway 46 crash

August 8, 2019

The California Highway Patrol has identified the man killed in a head-on collision at the Cholame “Y” Wednesday night as Juan Silva Casares, 48, of Creston. [Cal Coast Times]

Casares, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was a passenger in a pickup truck that collided with a minivan, according to the CHP.

Shortly after 10 p.m., 39-year-old Zi Tao Pan of Fresno was driving a 2015 Honda Odyssey minivan eastbound on Highway 46. Meanwhile,  Federico Lopez Torres of Creston was driving a 1997 Ford F-150 westbound on Highway 46.

Both vehicles were traveling toward the “Y,” which forms the intersection of highways 41 and 46.

Pan tried to turn left onto northbound Highway 41, but failed to notice the oncoming Ford pickup approaching the intersection.

Torres was unable to stop in time, and the two vehicles collided head-on, according to the CHP. Following the collision, both vehicles came to a rest of the shoulder of Highway 46, still within the “Y.”

Casares, who was the right front passenger in the truck, died of his injuries at the scene of the crash. Pan, Torres and three other individuals were transported to Twin Cities Community Hospital in Templeton.

A CHP helicopter airlifted 45-year-old Francisco Silva of Creston to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center in San Luis Obispo. Silva suffered major injuries, including head, eye and ear lacerations. An ambulance also transported Xiuyu Yang to Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center where she was treated for her injuries.