78-year-old man dead after car crashes into a tractor near Gilroy

SANTA CLARA COUNTY, Calif. (KION-TV)- The California Highway Patrol said that a 78-year-old Santa Clara man is dead after a tractor crashed into his vehicle on Tuesday morning.

The CHP said that the crash happened around 7:30 a.m. on Highway 152 and Canada Road just outside of Gilroy.

According to the California Highway Patrol, a 22-year-old man out of Coalinga was operating a 2023 Tomato Harvester Tractor and attempted to cross both lanes of Highway 152 just east of Canada Road.

The tractor was trying to get from the south shoulder to the north shoulder of the road.

At the same time, a 78-year-old Santa Clara man was driving a 2021 Toyota Rav4 eastbound on Highway 152 and west of Canada Road.

CHP said that the crash occurred when the 22-year-old man drove the tractor into the lanes of Highway 152 and into the path of the 2021 Toyota Rav4. The Toyota Rav4 crashed into the front of the tractor.

Following the crash, the 22-year-old man immediately moved the tractor to the shoulder of Highway 152 and waited for officers to arrive.

CHP said that the 2021 Toyota Rav4 came to rest in a field east of where the crash took place. A good Samaritan stopped to aid and called 911.

Medical personnel arrived to the scene and provided aid. The 78-year-old man died from his injuries sustained from the crash. A 76-year-old Santa Clara woman who was a passenger in the 2021 Toyota Rav4 suffered major injuries in the crash and was transported to a local hospital.

CHP says that it does not appear that alcohol or drugs were a factor in the cause of this crash.