Late Friday night, CHP Merced, The Merced County Sheriff’s Office, and Atwater PD responded to Santa Fe near Spaceport Entry for a Hyundai Elantra into a chain link fence.

When authorities arrived in the area, officers located a deceased male in the roadway. A vehicle, the Hyundai Elantra, was also found into a fence, CHP say.

The investigation determined the driver of the Hyundai Elantra, a 47-year-old female from Winton, was driving the 2017 Hyundai at approximately 55 miles per hour in the #2 lane of westbound Santa Fe Drive east of Spaceport Entry. Meanwhile, a 41-year-old male pedestrian, Winton, appeared to be standing or walking in the middle of the #2 westbound lane, directly in the path of the Hyundai.  Due to the the pedestrian wearing dark clothing and no lighting in the area of the collision, the driver did not see the pedestrian in the roadway and the front of the Hyundai struck the pedestrian in the #2 lane, CHP say.

After the collision the Hyundai traveled across the north shoulder of Santa Fe Drive and collided with the chain link fence. The driver sustained minor injuries resulting from the collision and was determined to NOT to be under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol at the time of the collision. 

It is unknown if the pedestrian was under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time of the collision.