Coroner identifies driver killed in Merced County collision near Delhi

The Merced County Sheriff Coroner’s Office has identified a driver killed in a head-on collision in Merced County on Tuesday, as 56-year-old Mark Keach of Atwater, according to Deputy Daryl Allen.

California Highway Patrol officers responded to the collision just before 8:30 a.m. in the area of North Vincent Road and West Harding Road. According to authorities, Keach was driving a Chevrolet Cruze north on North Vincent Road with his 21-year-old son Logan Keach and a 17-year-old son, both of Atwater, when the vehicle was struck head-on by an Infiniti SUV traveling southbound.

The CHP said it appears the Infiniti, driven by 44-year-old Mercedes Adams of Fort Wayne, Indiana, traveled off the shoulder of the road for unknown reasons. The driver over-corrected, causing the SUV to travel into the northbound lane, striking the Chevrolet, according to the CHP. Authorities said the collision caused the Chevrolet to catch fire.

Adams and her passenger, 20-year-old Jasmine Dontz, of Fort Wayne Ind., as well as the passengers in the Chevrolet were all flown to area hospitals with major injuries, according to the CHP. Keach was pronounced dead a the scene.

According to CHP Officer Eric Zuniga on Thursday, all four remain in critical condition.

Authorities said neither drugs nor alcohol appear to be a factor and the collision which remains under investigation.