A Riverbank man was killed Friday morning in a three-vehicle crash on River Road in Escalon.

According to the Stockton CHP, Ruben V. Arambula, 35, was westbound on River Road at about 55 mph in a 2011 Toyota when he approached a stopped 2008 Freightliner, waiting in the westbound lane to make a left turn off the roadway. Arambula veered his car to the left to avoid striking the stopped big rig, said the CHP report, but struck the rear of that vehicle. The impact sent his car sideways into the eastbound lane, where he was struck on the driver’s side by an eastbound vehicle. The eastbound 1993 Honda was driven by a 26-year-old Escalon man and was also going about 55 mph, said authorities.

The force of the impact resulted in fatal injuries to Arambula, who died at the scene. His body was taken to the San Joaquin County Morgue.

The Escalon man had relatively minor injuries and the driver of the big rig, a 57-year-old man from Modesto, was not injured.

The crash occurred shortly before 6:30 a.m. on Friday, Dec. 13 in the 24000 block of River Road.