Winemaker Julio Gallo, 82, Dies in Crash : Accident: Jeep careens 35 feet down embankment on family ranch. His wife and another relatives were injured.

Julio Gallo, who along with his brother founded the world’s largest winemaking empire, was killed Sunday when a Jeep he was in plunged off a road on the family ranch. He was 82.

His wife and two other relatives were in the vehicle when it careened 35 feet down an embankment and ended up in a holding pond, said Capt. Larry Fragoso of the Tracy Fire Department.

Gallo, who was believed to be driving the vehicle, was taken by helicopter to Memorial Medical Center in Modesto, where he was dead on arrival, according to nursing supervisor Elaine Day.

Also injured were his wife, Aileen, 80, and Gina Gallo, 26, believed to be a granddaughter. Both were taken to Eden Hospital in Castro Valley, where nursing supervisor Cassandra Phelps said Aileen Gallo’s injuries included a fractured sternum and fractured ribs. She was in serious condition. The younger woman was in fair condition with fractured ribs. Passenger Amie Gallo, 22, whose relationship was not immediately known, was not hospitalized.

Three years ago, Aileen Gallo pleaded no contest in Gilroy to a manslaughter charge in a fatal auto accident and drew probation and a fine.

The privately held, $1-billion-a-year E.&J.; Gallo boasts about 26 percent of the U.S. wine market. Gallo sells about 150 million gallons of wine a year.