BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) -- The California Highway Patrol investigated a wreck Saturday evening in south Bakersfield after a car struck a tree and left the driver dead. On Jan. 4, CHP officers received reports of a vehicle wrecking into a tree on Highway 99, just south of Bear Mountain Boulevard. Officers arrived on scene at about 11:10 p.m. and pronounced the driver of the 2023 Honda Civic deceased. Social Security: When are benefits being sent out in 2025? After investigating, CHP says the driver was traveling southbound on Highway 99 at an unknown rate of speed when the vehicle traveled off the roadway and onto the right shoulder, where it struck a tree. It is unknown if alcohol or drugs are a factor in this crash.