An early morning two-vehicle collision and an early afternoon vehicle vs. motorcycle crash claimed two lives in Escalon on Sunday, Sept. 25.

The California Highway Patrol in Stockton investigated both crashes.

According to the CHP report, the first accident occurred just before 6:45 a.m. Sunday, along Highway 120 east of Steinegul Road.

In that incident, a driver identified as 31-year-old Gregory Lyons of Escalon was driving a 2004 Mercedes-Benz westbound on Highway 120 at an undetermined speed. The driver of the other vehicle, a 21-year-old man from Oakdale, was eastbound on Highway 120 in a 2022 Dodge, driving about 55 mph while towing a flatbed trailer.

The CHP report indicated that as the vehicles approached each other, Lyons allowed his vehicle to drift onto the north asphalt shoulder before he turned the vehicle back into the westbound lane. The vehicle then crossed into the eastbound lane where the two vehicles struck in a head-on collision. The impact caused the Mercedes to turn in a clockwise manner before traveling off the north side of the road and coming to rest in an irrigation ditch, which parallels the north side of the highway. The driver was partially ejected from the vehicle and succumbed to his injuries. The Dodge truck and the trailer it was towing rolled over onto the dirt shoulder on the side of the highway. The 21-year-old man had a complaint of pain; both drivers were using safety equipment.

The roadway was shut down for a time between Seidner and Steinegul while the investigation was conducted.

Later in the day, just before 2 p.m., the CHP was called to the area of Escalon-Bellota Road at Dove Road, for a vehicle vs. motorcycle collision.

In that crash, a man identified as 19-year-old Escalon resident Carlos Castillo, was pronounced dead at the scene. He was riding an off-road motorcycle, a 2020 Apollo, according to the CHP report, and was driving west on Dove Road east of Escalon-Bellota, where he stopped for a stop sign. The driver of the second vehicle, a 2016 Lexus, was listed as a 64-year-old man from Alamo. He was driving southbound on Escalon-Bellota Road, north of Dove Road, traveling at approximately 55 mph. For an unknown reason, Castillo pulled into the path of the approaching vehicle; struck the side of the Lexus and was ejected from his bike, suffering fatal injuries. The driver of the Lexus declined treatment on scene. The investigation is ongoing; anyone with information regarding the collision is asked to call the CHP Stockton office at 209-938-4800.