Blowout Causes Fatal SUV Rollover Crash on Bakersfield California

A 61-year-old woman was killed and two others suffered major injuries Friday morning when a blown tire caused an SUV rollover crash on Interstate 5 in Bakersfield.The right rear wheel of a Chevy Suburban had a flat tire and started to wobble at freeway speed on Interstate 5.The SUV went out of control and rolled over several times, killing one of the occupants.

Five others including two teens and a 10-year-old — were hospitalized. Only one passenger, a 5-year-old boy, escaped injury.The fatal freeway crash occurred at about 6:30 a.m., according to a KBAK News report.California Highway Patrol officer Kelly Olsen said 63-year-old Juvento Magana of Baldwin Park was driving a white 2006 Chevrolet Suburban SUV north on Interstate 5 in the fast lane when the accident occurred. There were six passengers in the van.Just after the SUV passed the Panama Lane exit, a mechanical failure caused the right rear wheel to wobble and the tire blew out, Olsen said. Magana was unable to control the wobbling and the vehicle went out of control.

The SUV veered into the center median and then overturned and rolled over several times, Olsen said. The CHP does not know how many times the SUV rolled.The Kern County coroner’s office confirmed that one of the passengers, 61-year-old Maria Este Montejano De Magana of Baldwin Park, died at the scene.

The driver and a 38-year-old woman, whose name was not released, were among five victims who suffered minor to major injuries and were taken to area hospitals to be treated, according to a report in the Fresno Bee. The other three were girls aged 19, 17 and 10. The seventh occupant, a 5-year-old boy, was not injured.All of the occupants in the SUV were properly fastened into seat belts, Olsen said.