Panoche
– A San Martin resident was killed when he drove his car off
Panoche Road in the early morning hours Friday in a single-vehicle
accident that police believe was alcohol-related, according to the
California Highway Patrol.
Panoche – A San Martin resident was killed when he drove his car off Panoche Road in the early morning hours Friday in a single-vehicle accident that police believe was alcohol-related, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The 48-year-old man, whose name wasn’t available by press time because his family hadn’t been notified, was dead by the time emergency crews arrived at the accident scene on Panoche Road at 5:35am Friday, said CHP Officer Matt Ramirez.
A motorist driving to work a little before 5:30am saw the vehicle, which had crashed into a guard rail and slid down an embankment, laying on its side at the bottom of a hill near the road, and called 911, Ramirez said.
“From what we can tell it appeared to have happened possibly the night before,” Ramirez said. “From what we can tell he’d been there a few hours, but we’re waiting for the coroner to see how long he’d been out there.”
Ramirez said the investigating officer believes the driver was intoxicated when he crashed, but the collision is still under review, he said.
While driving eastbound on Panoche Road, west of Little Panoche Road at an unknown rate of speed, the man allowed his 1995 GMC to drive onto the shoulder after rounding a curve in the roadway, according to the highway patrol.
When the man overcorrected, he shot back across the road and hit a wooden guard rail before sliding down an embankment. The car rolled partially up a hillside before it overturned and came to rest at the bottom of the hill on its right side, according to the CHP.
Although the victim was wearing his seat belt, he was pronounced dead at the scene. And due to the force of the collision, if help had arrived immediately it probably wouldn’t have saved his life, Ramirez said.
“With this type of collision, he basically died because of the collision,” he said. “There was so much trauma to the vehicle, even if they’d gotten there sooner, as it happened it wouldn’t have saved him.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com
