BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — The Kern County Coroner’s Office has identified the man who died after a solo-vehicle crash into the canal as 62-year-old Jorge Adan Machuca of Maricopa.
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The California Highway Patrol said on Saturday, January 17, 2026, at around 5:53 p.m., officers were called to Herring Road, west of Highway 99, for a report of a crash involving one vehicle into a canal.
CHP said a preliminary investigation found that Machuca, and sole occupant, was driving a 2008 Toyota Prius westbound on Herring Road, west of Highway 99, in heavy fog conditions.
For reasons still under investigation, Machuca allowed the vehicle to cross over the eastbound lane, onto the dirt shoulder of Herring Road, according to CHP.
The Toyota continued in a southwesterly direction before overturning in a water-filled canal.
Machuca was pronounced dead at the scene.
Anyone with information is asked to call Bakersfield CHP at (661) 396-6600.