A late-night drive along a narrow Delta levee road turned deadly yesterday when a car veered off Lower Jones Road and plunged into Empire Cut, a tight waterway outside Stockton in unincorporated San Joaquin County. Emergency crews later pulled the submerged vehicle from the water and pronounced the driver dead at the scene, officials said.
According to ABC10, the California Highway Patrol said the crash happened at about 10:28 p.m. A Toyota passenger vehicle heading east on Lower Jones Road failed to make a sharp right-hand curve, crossed into the westbound lane, slid down a rock-covered embankment, and entered Empire Cut, where it became submerged. CHP confirmed the driver was pronounced dead at the scene.
Crashes that send cars into Delta sloughs and embankments are sadly familiar in the county. In a separate incident in February 2025, a driver died after a vehicle went into the water along another San Joaquin County roadway, as reported by KCRA. Narrow, low-light levee roads and steep banks along Delta channels can make already dangerous crashes even tougher for first responders handling water recoveries.
Investigation Underway
CHP Stockton investigators told ABC10 they are investigating the circumstances of the wreck. The agency has not yet said whether alcohol or drugs played any role in the crash. Officials described the investigation as ongoing and said more details will be released as they become available.
Where It Happened
Empire Cut runs along the edge of the Jones Tract, part of the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta. Lower Jones Road tracks along narrow levees and embankments that sit just above the surrounding sloughs. The Jones Tract area, with its maze of channels and low-light rural roads, has long been noted for hazardous driving conditions in the Delta region, according to Wikipedia…