Driver Killed in Highway 70 Crash Near Beckwourth

BECKWOURTH — A man died Thursday afternoon after his vehicle left State Route 70 east of Maddalena Road and struck a utility pole, according to the California Highway Patrol. Officers from the CHP Quincy Area, Portola Resident Post, responded to the report of a single-vehicle collision at approximately 2:58 PM.

A preliminary investigation indicates the driver was traveling westbound at an undetermined speed when the vehicle left the roadway, CHP said. The vehicle struck two metal paddle markers, a barbed wire fence, a sign, a metal gate post, and a utility pole.

CHP personnel and the Eastern Plumas District Paramedics immediately attempted life-saving measures at the scene, the agency said. Despite those efforts, the driver was pronounced deceased at the scene.

CHP has not released the driver’s name. The cause of the collision remains under investigation, and the Plumas County Sheriff’s Office is conducting the death investigation in coordination with the CHP’s collision investigation.

The crash is at least the second fatal collision this year on the stretch of State Route 70 that crosses Sierra Valley east of Portola. On May 7, a head-on collision east of State Route 49 near Vinton killed Danny Price, 63, of Loyalton, after a westbound pickup crossed into the eastbound lane and struck two vehicles, CHP reported. Investigators said impairment was not suspected in the May collision, which also remains under investigation.

“The CHP reminds all motorists to drive with due regard for the conditions of the roadway,” the agency said in its news release. Anyone with information related to the crash is encouraged to contact the CHP Quincy Area Office at (530) 283-1100.