The county coroner’s office has confirmed the identity of one
victim from Saturday morning’s fatal accident as 47-year-old
Raymond Mattos of Hollister, while detectives have traveled to King
City to conduct follow-up work in identifying the second victim, an
office spokesman said today.
HOLLISTER
The county coroner’s office has confirmed the identity of one victim from Saturday morning’s fatal accident as 47-year-old Raymond Mattos of Hollister, while detectives have traveled to King City to conduct follow-up work in identifying the second victim, an office spokesman said today.
The two men were killed in Saturday’s accident shortly after 5 a.m. on Highway 156 just outside of Hollister. Five other occupants in one of the vehicles were injured and airlifted to various hospitals, according to the California Highway Patrol, though there is no update on their conditions.
Mattos was driving a 1997 Chevrolet pickup truck that collided with a 1993 Chevrolet van with the total of six occupants, including the unidentified deceased man. The man in the van died after going unconscious as the vehicle became engulfed in flames, according to the CHP. The Hollister man died upon impact.
Lt. Roy Iler of the San Benito County Sheriff’s Office – which includes the coroner’s office – confirmed Mattos as the accident victim and also noted how detectives were in King City today to help find the identity of the second victim. He also confirmed that the damage to the King City man’s body from the fire has caused the problems in officially identifying him.
