On Tuesday, April 4th, 2023, at 7:52 am, the California Highway Patrol, Keyes Fire Protection District, and American Medical Response were dispatched to a reported vehicle collision with injuries northbound State Route 99 just north of E Keyes Rd, Keyes.
When crews arrived on scene, they found three vehicles involved. The first was a 2023 Kawasaki motorcycle, the second was a 2010 Kia Soul, and the third was a 2015 Ford Fusion.
The motorcyclist, later identified as Ireland Rolon, 24, of Hughson, suffered major injuries which she succumbed to at the scene. The drivers of the other two vehicles, a 40-year-old woman of Merced and a 23-year-old woman of Turlock, were uninjured.
Officers began investigating and determined that Rolon had been splitting lanes at a high rate of speed while traveling northbound when she clipped the right front side of Soul. The collision propelled Rolon and her motorcycle forward into the back of the Fusion, before Rolon was ejected from her motorcycle and came to final rest in the middle of the freeway lanes.
Rolon was wearing a helmet at the time of the collision. It’s currently unclear if alcohol or drugs were a factor in the collision.
