At about 2:22am Wednesday, Turlock Police, Turlock Fire, and American Medical Response responded to a traffic collision with injuries at Geer Road and E. Taylor Road.
The caller reported a vehicle had rolled over and someone had been ejected from it who was possibly deceased.
American Medical Response gave CPR instructions over the phone while units were enroute.
When units arrived on scene, they located the crash in a field near the Turlock Unified School District Farm in the 600 block of E. Taylor Road.
The driver and only occupant of the vehicle, later identified as Ryan Norman, 48, of Turlock, suffered major injuries which he succumbed to at the scene.
After identifying Norman, Turlock Police discovered they had a few recent calls with him, including a security check on September 19 where he claimed rumor had it he was going to “crash and die” in his vehicle and a mentally sick person call on September 21 where he was detained for a mental health evaluation.
The actual location of the crash was outside the city and not at the intersection initially provided, so the California Highway Patrol was requested to respond and assume the investigation.
CHP officers arrived on scene and began investigating.
Turlock Police also remained on scene and assisted. “One of our drones with [a] thermal camera was used to check the field for any other possible occupants and to obtain photos for CHP,” said Sergeant Neves.
The investigation revealed Norman had been driving eastbound in the 600 block of E. Taylor Road, when for an unknown reason, he allowed his vehicle to veer to the left and leave the roadway. The vehicle continued northeasterly into the open field and overturned several times before coming to final rest on its left side.
“It was determined [Norman] was not wearing a seatbelt and as a result, was ejected from [the vehicle] and sustained fatal injuries,” said Officer Alvarez. “It is unknown if drugs or alcohol [were] a factor in this crash.”
The investigation remains ongoing. Anyone with information that could assist is encouraged to call Officer Alvarez at 209-545-7440.
