{"id":466937,"date":"2026-09-17T16:31:22","date_gmt":"2026-09-17T16:31:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/466937\/"},"modified":"2026-09-17T16:31:22","modified_gmt":"2026-09-17T16:31:22","slug":"driver-dead-after-truck-hits-tree-catches-on-fire-along-highway-99","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/466937\/","title":{"rendered":"Driver dead after truck hits tree, catches on fire along Highway 99"},"content":{"rendered":"

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 A driver died after a truck struck a tree and caught on fire on Highway 99 Wednesday afternoon.<\/p>\n

The California Highway Patrol said on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, at around 12:02 p.m., officers were called to southbound Highway 99, north of Houghton Road for a report of a solo-vehicle crash involving a pickup truck. <\/p>\n

CHP said a preliminary investigation found that an unknown person was driving a 2011 Dodge Ram southbound on Highway 99, north of Houghton Road, within an unknown lane, at an unknown rate of speed.<\/p>\n

For reasons still under investigation, the driver allowed the Dodge to veer to the right onto the dirt shoulder and ultimately collided with a tree, according to CHP.<\/p>\n

Due to the crash, the Dodge became fully engulfed in flames with the driver pinned inside.<\/p>\n

CHP said as a result of this crash, the driver sustained severe injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.<\/p>\n

\"At<\/p>\n

At least one person is dead after a truck struck a tree and caught on fire on Highway 99 Wednesday afternoon. PHOTO: KBAK\/KBFX<\/p>\n

The driver was the sole occupant in the vehicle.<\/p>\n

The number three lane of southbound Highway 99, north of Houghton Road, remains closed as units complete the investigation and is expected to reopen by around 4 p.m.<\/p>\n

CHP said at this time, it is unknown whether alcohol and\/or drugs were a factor in this crash.<\/p>\n

Anyone with any additional information regarding this crash is asked to call the CHP Bakersfield Area office at (661) 396-6600.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 A driver died after a truck struck a tree and caught on fire on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":466938,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":["post-466937","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield","tag-bakersfield-headlines","tag-bakersfield-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466937","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=466937"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/466937\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/466938"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=466937"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=466937"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=466937"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}