Six people injured in related collisions at Highway 99 overpass in Ceres. One DUI arrest

Three vehicles were involved in collisions Tuesday evening near Ceres that injured six people, the CHP said.

Four of the six were pinned inside vehicles by the two related crashes on Service Road near the Moffett Road intersection and Highway 99, according to the Modesto Fire Department. Emergency crews used power tools to extricate them.

Ambulances took the injured to local hospitals.

At about 6:15 p.m., Anselmo Jimenez, 54, of Ceres was driving a 1998 Ford SUV east on Service Road near where it crosses over Highway 99, said Officer Tom Olsen, a spokesman for the CHP’s Modesto office.

The SUV partially entered the westbound lane in front of a large Freightliner truck, which was followed by a 2021 Dodge pickup towing a trailer. The Ford sideswiped the large truck and then continued onto the freeway overpass, colliding head-on with the Dodge pickup, Olsen said.

The SUV overturned onto its roof and came to rest on the overpass guardrail.

Three people in the Dodge pickup were pinned inside, according to Modesto Fire.

Jimenez suffered major injuries and was transported to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto. Jaime Moreno, 65, of Ceres, the driver of the Freightliner truck, and Elio Mendez-Martinez, 25, of Maxwell, who was driving the Dodge pickup, were taken by ambulance for treatment of minor injuries at Doctors Medical Center and Memorial, respectively.

Three other people in the Dodge pickup suffered major to minor injuries and were transported by ambulance to hospitals.

Olsen said Jimenez showed signs of intoxication and was arrested on a charge of felony DUI. According to the CHP, Jimenez was involved in a hit-and-run collision with a Toyota SUV just before the collisions at the overpass. No one was injured in that incident.

Jimenez is also facing a charge of misdemeanor hit and run.