80-year-old dies in solo Sierra crash near Alpine Village

An 80-year-old man died Saturday when his car struck a tree and overturned near Alpine Village, said California Highway Patrol officials.

Officials at the patrol’s South Lake Tahoe office announced the fatality on Tuesday. The unidentified man was driving a Chevrolet HHR Saturday on Highway 88 near Snowshoe Springs Road west of Alpine Village when the car went off the roadway, struck a tree and flipped onto its side.

Another motorist called in the wreck to Highway Patrol emergency dispatchers at about 1:30 p.m., but it was not known when the crash occurred, officials said.

Alpine Village is about 112 miles northeast of Sacramento.

Patrol officers, Alpine County Sheriff’s deputies and High Country Fire Rescue responded to the crash and worked to save the driver, but he was later pronounced dead by paramedics, the CHP said.

Alpine County Coroner’s officials had not yet released the driver’s name Tuesday pending notification of family members.

Darrell Smith

The Sacramento Bee

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Darrell Smith is a local reporter for The Sacramento Bee. He joined The Bee in 2006 and previously worked at newspapers in Palm Springs, Colorado Springs and Marysville. Smith was born and raised at Beale Air Force Base and lives in Elk Grove.