A 31-year-old Manteca woman died Sunday morning after crashing into the rear of a westbound semi-truck hauling grain on the Highway 120 Bypass.

The female motorist slammed into the truck just east of Union Road at 2:15 a.m.

The collision caused moderate damage to the right front of the women’s 2010 Honda and minor damage to the trailer pulled by a 2007 Freightliner tractor that was being driven by a 65-year-old Hilmar man.

The mishap caused the woman’s Honda to come to rest partially blocking the inside lane and center median.

The California Highway Patrol then said a 2000 Toyota driven by a 27-year-old Manteca man at more than 70 mph swerved to avoid some of the collision debris in the road way left by the initial crash.

The Toyota then hit the disabled Honda. That is when the woman suffered fatal injuries. The driver of the Toyota sustained major injuries.

Manteca firefighters had to extricate both motorists with the Jaws of Life as they were trapped inside their vehicles.  The woman motorist was transported to a Kaiser’s Manteca hospital where she died soon after her arrival. The man was taken to San Joaquin County General Hospital. The truck driver was not injured.

The name of the victim was not released pending notification of next of kin.

The CHP indicated alcohol may have been a factor in the collision.

Manteca firefighters already had trucks deployed in mutual aid with the Lathrop-Manteca Fire District an hour earlier at a home at 1511 Hollyhock Court in Lathrop that was fully involved.  A Manteca Fire Department spokesman said three Manteca firefighters evacuated the structure for their safety shortly before the second story roof caved in from the blaze.  It then became a defensive fire attack, beyond saving the structure.

Engines had also been responding earlier to three separate brush fires on West Yosemite Avenue, requiring all of the department’s manpower on the five calls.