Yolo County tragedy: Death toll now at 4 after farmworkers crash in van on way home

A fourth farmworker has died from injuries stemming from a Thursday afternoon crash that took place in Yolo County as the laborers returned home, the California Highway Patrol said.

Seven others were injured in the accident when a van veered off a rural Yolo County road and struck a tree near the town of Zamora, the CHP reported.

The crash occurred shortly before 3 p.m. Thursday, when the white Ford van heading east veered off the road and struck the tree along County Road 14 near County Road 13, said Officer Robert Martell of the CHP Woodland Area Office. The crash occurred several miles northwest of Woodland.

Martell said 11 farm workers were on their way home to Yuba City on the stretch of road between Interstate 5 and Interstate 505 when the crash occurred.

Martell said officers were still investigating to determine the van’s speed before leaving the road and what might have led to the crash. The CHP said the driver was one of the four who died, and investigators were still trying to determine whether alcohol or drugs were a factor in the fatal crash.

Three of the workers were pronounced dead at the scene, and one of them died later at a hospital. The seven other people injured in the crash were taken to various hospitals. Martell said Friday morning he did not have any further information about the people who died and the other van passengers who were injured.