Man, 70, killed in Sacramento County crash identified as local fire department chairman

A man was killed in a two-vehicle crash Friday evening in Courtland, while another was arrested on suspicion of DUI in the deadly incident, authorities said.

Barry Andrew McClain, 70, died in a crash around 7:30 p.m. Friday driving a 1988 Ford pickup on Highway 160, roughly a mile south of Hood Franklin Road in the Delta area, according to the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office and California Highway Patrol.

McClain was traveling northbound on Highway 160 when a 47-year-old man from Walnut Grove traveling southbound in a 2016 Chevrolet pickup veered left and collided with the left front of McClain’s vehicle, causing the Ford to veer right, strike the east guardrail and overturn on the roadway, according to California Highway Patrol South Sacramento spokesman Officer Mark Leavitt.

The Chevrolet continued veering left, traveled downhill into an embankment and came to a stop in a field along the roadway, law enforcement said. McClain was pronounced dead on the scene, Leavitt said.

The Walnut Grove man, who was not injured, man was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol and booked into Sacramento County Main Jail, authorities said. He has since been released, according to jail records.

Highway 160 was closed in both directions for more than three hours, Leavitt said.

Victim was Sacramento-area fire district chairman

McClain served as chairman of the board of directors for the Courtland Fire Protection District, which serves about 2,500 people across a 33-square-mile region of southern Sacramento County, according to the district’s website.

McClain was re-elected to the position in November 2020.

Courtland Fire Chief Vince Peters declined Sunday to comment on McClain’s death.

The fatal crash happened roughly a mile from the fire district’s station on Hood Franklin Road.

This story was originally published July 2, 2023 at 2:50 PM.