Lake County >> Authorities pronounced an Upper Lake woman dead at the scene of a Wednesday morning crash on Highway 20 west of Witter Springs Road.
California Highway Patrol (CHP) Officer Greg Bucchholz responded to the incident along with an ambulance at about 9:40 a.m. Scanner reports at the time noted a possible fatality, which Bucchholz confirmed upon his arrival.
The victim, a 51-year-old woman who has yet to be identified, was driving eastbound on Highway 20 at an unknown speed in a 2002 Ford Focus when she veered from the roadway and overturned, Bucchholz reported.
Investigators have yet to determine her speed or cause of the crash, and it is unknown at this time if alcohol was a factor. This marks the 19th vehicle-related fatality in Lake County for 2015 ‑ almost double the area’s usual death toll in a year; June alone had five deaths. CHP officer Kory Reynolds said on average, the county has about 11 or 12 fatal crashes per year.
The California Office of Traffic Safety rates Lake County as 29 out the state’s 58 counties for its traffic safety.
The cause of the three most recent deadly collisions in Lake County are still under investigation, but CHP officer Joe Wind said at least seven are drug or alcohol related.
More than half of this year’s deadly crashes have been on Highway 20. Wind said the primary collision factor in those incidents has been unsafe speeds or movements.
The majority of the victims have been local residents. While only speculating Wind said it might be the drivers were in too much of a hurry.
Reynolds says drivers should use restraints, slow down and make sure they give themselves plenty of time to get where they are going. Advice he said is good all year around.
