Octavio Maldonado was pronounced dead at 3:36 p.m. at Doctors Medical Center, according to Adam Shelton, spokesman for the California Highway Patrol office in Tracy.
Shelton said Maldonado was driving a 2000 Volkswagen Jetta on Linne Road — between Ahern Road and Interstate 5 — around 8:40 p.m. on Saturday when his vehicle went off the road, through several bushes and eventually rolled over.
He was taken by medical helicopter to the hospital with major head injuries.
Shelton said on Tuesday that “blunt-force trauma” contributed to Maldonado’s injuries and death.
Alcohol was also the “primary cause” of the crash, according to Shelton.
Shelton said that, according to a police report, Maldonado had a “strong odor of alcohol on his breath” at the scene of the crash.
Since he was unconscious, Shelton said Maldonado could not be questioned before he was flown to the hospital.
It’s unclear what direction Maldonado was driving, but no other passengers or vehicles were involved, the CHP crash report states.
Shelton said on Monday, Feb. 11, that blood was drawn at the hospital, but that a blood-alcohol level will not be available until a toxicology report is completed by the Department of Justice crime lab in Ripon.
• Contact Denise Ellen Rizzo at 830-4225 or drizzo@tracypress.com.
My sympathy to the family and friends of Maldonado, and I want this to be a clear reason why you must stay sober when driving. If you have not learned the dangers of driving drunk, read this article again.