Two Young Lives Lost in Highway 99 Crash Near Lodi

A tragic collision on Highway 99 has left two families grieving and raised urgent questions about safety on one of Northern California’s busiest corridors. Clark James Fojas, 20, and Peter Joshua Fojas, 16, both from Stockton, died in a multi-vehicle crash involving a big rig near the Harney Lane offramp in Lodi around midday on May 21.

The crash itself unfolded with the kind of chaos that defines highway disasters. Four vehicles collided in the northbound lanes, but what followed was equally alarming: the big rig’s driver, identified as Manvir Singh, allegedly tried to flee the scene. According to the California Highway Patrol, Singh was detained at the scene. His attorney, Jacob Benguerel, told KCRA 3’s Denzen Cortez that Singh’s defense centers on mechanical failure rather than negligence:“There’s no allegation that my client was under the influence, doing anything other than being unable to stop his vehicle in time.”It’s a crucial distinction—one that hinges on whether a driver simply lost control of an 80,000-pound machine or caused the crash through reckless behavior.

Singh now faces multiple charges including vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence, hit-and-run resulting in death or injury, and obstructing or resisting a police officer. He entered a not guilty plea during his May 21 court appearance. Bail has been set at $400,000, and a preliminary hearing is scheduled for June 10. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has indicated that Singh is an undocumented immigrant from India who entered the country in Arizona in July 2023, adding a layer of complexity to an already heartbreaking case.

For the families of Clark and Peter Fojas, the legal proceedings offer little solace. Two young lives—one just beginning adulthood, the other still in his teens—are gone. The Sacramento region’s roads claim lives with disturbing regularity, often in the blink of an eye. This crash reminds us that Highway 99 remains one of California’s deadliest stretches, where the distance between routine commute and tragedy is measured in seconds.

As the case moves forward, questions linger: Could this crash have been prevented? What systemic failures—whether mechanical, regulatory, or human—contributed to this outcome? The answers may emerge at the June 10 hearing, but they won’t bring Clark and Peter Fojas home.