Head-on crash leaves one dead

Elderly Calexico man killed in collision - passenger of second car airlifted to hospital

IMPERIAL COUNTY, Calif. (KYMA, KECY) - A head-on crash on State Route 98 killed an elderly man, and sent the passenger in a second car to the hospital in a medevac helicopter.

It happened just before noon Monday just east of Holdridge Road, just a short distance from Bond's Corner. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) says a man from Campo, California was heading eastbound when he allowed his Lincoln to drift into the westbound lane, and into the path of an oncoming Pontiac. Both drivers tried to avoid the collision, but the vehicles crashed head-on.

The driver of the Pontiac, an 84-year-old Calexico man, died from his injuries at the scene. The CHP has not yet identified him.

The driver of the Lincoln suffered only minor injuries, and did not go to the hospital. His passenger, however, sustained a major injury to her left leg. Paramedics airlifted her to Desert Regional Medical Center.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation, although CHP says it doesn't look like either driver was impaired.