Coroner identifies three Taft men killed in Copus Road head-on crash

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK/KBFX) — The Kern County Coroner's Office has identified the three people killed in a crash on Copus Road as 43-year-old Jacobo Yesca Paz, 54-year-old Pablo Galindo Quiahua, and 35-year-old Raul Velasco Torres, all of Taft. RELATED: Three dead, four hurt after head-on crash on Copus Road The California Highway Patrol said on August 28, 2026, at around 5:22 a.m., officers were called to a report of a two-vehicle traffic crash on Copus Road, west of Old River Road. CHP said a preliminary investigation found that Yesca Paz was driving a 2003 Nissan Sentra eastbound on Copus Road west of Old River Road. A 60-year-old Bakersfield man was driving a 2005 Honda Odyssey westbound on Copus Road west of Old River Road, approaching the Nissan. CHP said for reasons under investigation, the Nissan went into the westbound lane of Copus Road, where the two vehicles collided head-on. According to CHP, Yesca Paz and two passengers of the Nissan, Galindo Quiahua and Velasco Torres, were pronounced dead at the scene. Two additional passengers in the Nissan sustained minor to moderate injuries. The driver and passenger of the Honda sustained minor to moderate injuries. CHP said the use of alcohol and/ or drugs as a factor in this crash is under investigation. Page 2