Paul Weldon dies in fatal Fresno Highway 99 crash
Fatal Fresno Highway 99 crash death of Paul Weldon and Mariana Perez Tinajero – Obituary
On the morning of Saturday, December 28, 2024, two individuals tragically lost their lives in a wrong-way crash on Highway 99 near Shaw Avenue in Fresno.
The California Highway Patrol was alerted at 7:15 a.m. to reports of a vehicle heading north in the southbound lanes.
Further calls indicated that the crash involved three vehicles. Upon arrival, emergency personnel found 64-year-old Paul Weldon of Fresno, driving a Lexus ES300, and 73-year-old Mariana Perez Tinajero of Selma, driving a Ford F-150, both deceased at the scene.
Investigators determined that Weldon’s Lexus had collided head-on with Tinajero’s truck after traveling in the wrong direction. Weldon was not wearing a seatbelt, while Tinajero, despite being strapped in, did not survive the crash.
A third vehicle, driven by a 26-year-old man, was also caught in the crash but the driver was treated on-site and released. Five other people traveling in the Ford F-150 were transported to Community Regional Medical Center with injuries ranging from moderate to severe.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation, with toxicology results from the Fresno County Coroner’s office still pending to determine if alcohol or drugs played a role.
