by: Juanita Adame, Rhett Rodriguez
Posted: Feb 24, 2024 / 08:36 AM PST
Updated: Feb 25, 2024 / 09:38 AM PST
MADERA COUNTY, Calif. (KSEE/KGPE) – The two vehicles involved in Friday’s morning deadly head-on crash are unrecognizable after CHP says a van carrying eight farm workers collided with a truck.
As of Saturday afternoon, four of the men killed in the crash have been identified through verified GoFundMe online fundraisers: Hector Orozco, Juvenal Jacobo Talavera, Alfredo Morales and Victor Hernandez.IDENTIFIED: 78-year-old truck driver in crash that killed 8 in Madera County
The crash happened around 6 a.m. near Avenue 7 and Road 22 in a rural area of Madera County. Seven of the eight people in the van were killed in the crash, as well as the driver of the truck. CHP has also confirmed that some of the victims worked at Lions Farms in Firebaugh.
The CHP says the investigation into what happened is still ongoing, but they believe the driver of the truck is responsible.
“It appears at this time perhaps the black Chevy pickup may have crossed over,” said the CHP’s Javier Ruvalcaba.
Ruvalcaba says much of the tragedy could have been avoided if they had worn a seat belt.
“As a result of that they sustained fatal injuries…I’m a firm believer of seatbelts and I believe if they were wearing their seatbelts, we would have had a much higher survival rate,” he said.
Family members of the victims could be seen standing on the side of the road in disbelief. The crash comes as more heartbreak for Lina Ibowa: her father passed away last month and she says she lost her uncle in Friday’s crash too.
“One of the victims that is in the van was one of my uncles,” said Lina Ibowa.
Her uncle was Hector Orozco.
“He was in the van heading to work, unfortunately, he didn’t make it to work,” she said.
The occupants of the van were on their way to Firebaugh to start their shift at Lyon’s Farms.
“His sister also works in the same company with them and when she got to the ranch unloading all her workers, they called her saying that the van that her brother was in got into a car accident,” she said.
A GoFundMe has been set up for Hector Orozco.
Further crash victims were also named through GoFundMe online fundraisers: Juvenal Jacobo Talavera (click here), Alfredo Morales and Victor Hernandez (click here).
GoFundMe has confirmed to YourCentralValley.com that the online fundraisers linked above have gone through “an enhanced due diligence review process” to ensure they are legitimate.
While family members and online fundraisers have identified some of deceased, official identifications from the Madera County Coroner’s Office have yet to be released.