Update: Driver in fatal crash near La Grange identified by Stanislaus Coroner’s Office

Ken Carlson

March 30, 2024 at 7:29 p.m.·1 min read

The man killed in a crash Saturday east of Modesto near Highway 132 and La Grange Dam Road has been identified by the Stanislaus County Coroner’s Office as Xavier Duarte, 27, of La Grange.

According to preliminary details from the CHP, a 2019 Ram pickup was going eastbound on Highway 132, approaching La Grange Dam Road. Duarte entered the westbound lane, continued on and struck the metal guardrail. The pickup went down an embankment and plunged into Goodwin Creek.

In the hours after the crash was reported, at 11:10 a.m. Saturday, responders on the bridge could not see inside the submerged vehicle to determine if there were occupants.

The CHP said the steep embankments alongside the creek made for a difficult retrieval of the pickup.

The Stanislaus County sheriff’s dive team was dispatched and the pickup was removed from the water around 4:45 p.m. A CHP spokesman confirmed that a male body was in the vehicle.

The guardrail sustained more than 20 feet of damage. The bridge over Goodwin Creek was closed to traffic. Authorities did not know the specific time of the crash, and it may take one or two days to narrow that down.

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