Teen girl killed, 2 drivers suffer major injuries in crash near Chualar

A teenage girl has died after a Thursday morning crash near Chualar, according to the California Highway Patrol.CHP said officers responded at about 8:28 a.m. to a crash on River Road south of Parker Road in Monterey County.A preliminary investigation found that a 26-year-old King City man was driving a Toyota sedan northbound on River Road with a 16-year-old girl from Soledad as his passenger. A 47-year-old Soledad man was driving a Mercedes-Benz coupe southbound at the same time.For reasons still under investigation, CHP said the Toyota crossed over the solid double yellow lines into the southbound lane, where the Mercedes crashed into the right side of the Toyota.The Toyota driver was taken to a local hospital with suspected major injuries. The 16-year-old passenger was pronounced dead at the scene, CHP said. Her identity will be released by the Monterey County Coroner’s Office after the next of kin are notified.The Mercedes driver was also taken to a local hospital with suspected major injuries.Authorities initially closed River Road in both directions from Parker Road to Odonata Winery for several hours, but the roadway has since reopened.CHP said alcohol and drugs do not appear to be factors in the crash. Anyone with information is asked to call CHP at 831-770-8000.See more coverage of top Central Coast stories / Download our app / Subscribe to our morning newsletter / Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel / Make KSBW a preferred news source in Google