Man crashes truck while pursued by Amador County deputy, dies in collision

A man died after crashing a pickup into a power pole in Amador County while a deputy was pursuing the truck.

In a news release, the Amador County Sheriff’s Office said that a deputy was called out to Overland Drive in Pioneer just after 6:45 p.m. Friday on reports of a suspicious person in the area.

A resident told dispatchers that a man — who they believed had previously tried to steal a vehicle from their property — was back in the area, possibly casing their home.

The resident gave a description of the man to the deputy and described the yellow Chevrolet pickup truck as well.

A responding deputy arrived at 7:10 p.m., but the person described was already gone. However, after canvassing the area, the deputy found the yellow Chevrolet at 7:23 p.m.

As the deputy tried to pull the truck over, noticing expired registration, the driver sped off after the patrol car’s lights and siren were engaged.

The deputy pursued the truck for about three minutes, at which point the driver crossed over and through oncoming lanes of traffic, drove off the shoulder and hit the pole.

The truck caught on fire, which spread through vegetation in the area. Fire personnel arrived by 7:37 p.m. and put out the fire. The driver of the truck was found dead inside the truck.

Officials are not releasing the name of the driver until his next of kin are notified. The California Highway Patrol is investigating the crash.