Two die including 5-year-old in Highway 50 crash into river in El Dorado County
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- A vehicle veered off Highway 50 and crashed in the American River in El Dorado County.
- A woman in the front passenger seat died at the scene; a 5-year-old died at a hospital.
- Authorities said it was raining and investigators believe speed may have been a factor.
Two people died, including a 5-year-old boy, after their vehicle crashed Tuesday when it veered off Highway 50 and down a steep embankment into the American River in El Dorado County.
The deadly single-vehicle crash was reported shortly after 4 p.m. along the eastbound lanes of Highway 50, just east of Ice House Road in the Pollock Pines area, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The vehicle veered off the highway and crashed into the American River, said Officer Andrew Brown, a spokesperson for the CHP’s Placerville office. He said the vehicle was not submerged in the water, and bystanders were able to get some of the injured people out of the vehicle. Initial reports incorrectly indicated the vehicle had crashed into a ditch.
Brown said Maria Fife, 35, of Tracy in San Joaquin County, was riding in the front passenger seat of the vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene. The vehicle’s driver, a 41-year-old Tracy man, suffered minor injuries in the crash.
Two boys, the 5-year-old and an 11-year-old, were riding in the back seat of the vehicle, according to the CHP.
Brown said the injured 5-year-old boy was taken by ambulance to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The CHP spokesperson said the 11-year-old boy suffered serious injuries in the crash and was hospitalized.
When asked whether the two adults were the parents of the two boys, Brown said he didn’t have information that could confirm how the four people in the vehicle were related.
On Wednesday, Brown said the cause of the crash remained under investigation. He said it was raining at the time as a thunderstorm moved through the region, but there were no reports of ice or hail.
Brown said investigators have some indication to believe speed might have been a factor in Tuesday’s fatal crash. He reminded drivers that they must drive at a reasonable speed in any weather condition, including when it’s raining.
“You got to slow down,” Brown said. “The risks are out there.”
