Bay Area women killed in Yosemite crash

Four women killed in a two-car collision near Yosemite National Park last weekend were identified Thursday as residents from Santa Clara and Alameda counties, according to the California Highway Patrol.

They were Grace Yu, 54, of San Jose; Myung Ae Yang, 69, of Cupertino; Mikyong Hong, 62, of Gilroy; and Yong Ok Argilla, 60, of Hayward, CHP spokesman Nick Norton said.

The four women and a fifth person, a Saratoga woman in her 50s, were inside a 2012 Mercedes-Benz SUV around 6:30 p.m. Saturday on westbound state Highway 120 east of Smith Station Road, where they were struck by a 2012 Nissan Maxima heading in the opposite direction, Norton said.

The Mercedes then ignited in flames, leading to a small grass fire that emergency crews quickly extinguished, he said.

A 22-year-old man driving the Nissan, later identified as Marcos Lopez Martinez of Groveland, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to Norton.

Yu, who was driving the Mercedes, and the three other women were also pronounced dead at the scene, according to Norton.

The Saratoga woman was flown to Doctors Medical Center in Modesto for major injuries, Norton said.

Martinez’s passenger, a 22-year-old Merced woman, also suffered major injuries and was airlifted to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, Norton said.

The survivors remained in the hospital as of this morning, according to Norton. He did not have an update on their conditions.

Drugs or alcohol have not been ruled out as factors in the collision, Norton said.

Anyone who has information on the collision is asked to call the CHP’s Sonora area office at (209) 984-3944 and ask for Officer Griefer.

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