A driver was killed and a Turlock Transit bus driver was seriously injured after a chain-reaction crash sent the bus into an unoccupied home in Turlock, California, on the night of Thursday, September 24, 2026. Police say it began around 8:10 p.m. when a vehicle involved in a hit-and-run collision on Lander Avenue near Highway 99 fled the scene, then struck the transit bus minutes later near High Street and West Avenue South. The impact pushed the bus into the house, shearing off the home’s natural gas meter and damaging a fire hydrant. Firefighters extricated the bus driver, who was taken to a trauma center with serious injuries, while the driver of the fleeing vehicle was found unresponsive and pronounced dead at the scene.
According to CBS News, the Turlock Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation Team is leading the investigation, and it remains unclear whether impairment was a factor in either crash. CBS News reported that toxicology testing is pending and the identity of the deceased driver had not been released as authorities worked to notify family. Crews secured the gas leak at the damaged home before PG&E arrived, and the surrounding area was closed off while officials investigated. No one was inside the home at the time of the crash.
