UPDATE (4/26): The Kern County Sheriff’s Office has identified the two men killed in the collision as 49-year-old Salvador Alvarez Vargas and 72-year-old Wayne Eugene Stedman, both Bakersfield residents.
(4/24): BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — Two men were killed after their vehicle collided into a highway support pillar Saturday evening on Golden State Avenue, Bakersfield police said.
The collision was reported at Golden State Highway near Q Street at around 6:12 p.m., Sgt. Chance Koerner said. Koerner said witnesses described the vehicle as traveling westbound at around 60 to 70 mph before the collision.
Koerner said vehicle was in the far right lane, and for unknown reasons, drifted toward the middle lanes and crashed into the pillar at a high speed, killing both men inside.
The two men will be identified by the Kern County Coroner’s Office.
The driver of the vehicle was described to be as a man in his 70s, and the passenger as a man in his 60s.
Golden State Avenue between Q and 24th streets will remain closed for several hours for the investigation.
The cause of the collision is under investigation.
We will update this story as we learn more information.
