Driver identified in fatal Highway 49 crash may have had ‘medical event,’ Placer sheriff says
Placer County sheriff’s and coroner’s officials have identified the 21-year-old Auburn man killed Wednesday in a three-vehicle collision on Highway 49.
The coroner has identified the victim as Tyler William Burk, the Placer County Sheriff’s Office said in a tweet.
The coroner’s office is “investigating the possibility” that Burk, described in a California Highway Patrol news release as the driver of a vehicle that was traveling recklessly at very high speeds, may have “suffered a medical event prior to the crash,” the sheriff’s office tweet said.
The collision, which occurred just after 1 p.m. Wednesday about 6 miles north of Auburn, involved a 2013 Volkswagen Golf and two other vehicles, according to the CHP news release.
The Volkswagen was traveling northbound “at a very high rate of speed” in the center turning lane for both northbound and southbound traffic near Cramer Road, according to the CHP collision report. The driver suddenly swerved into the southbound lanes of Highway 49, where it struck the left rear corner of a Ford F1-50 pickup truck. This impact in turn caused the Volkswagen to swerve into the path of an Acura RDX.
The Volkswagen’s driver was pronounced dead at the scene by fire personnel. The driver of the Acura, identified as a 73-year-old Grass Valley man, was transported to a hospital with major injuries. His status as of Thursday was not known. The Ford F-150 driver was not injured. All three parties were wearing seat belts, according to the CHP news release.
Cal Fire’s Nevada-Yuba-Placer unit said in a Facebook post Thursday, which included photos of the mangled Acura and Volkswagen, that one of the patients in Wednesday’s collision was extricated using the Jaws of Life.
The collision remains under investigation by the CHP Auburn office.
