SATURDAY, APRIL 4, 2015
A pickup driver died Friday when his vehicle hit a boulder
near Beale Air Force Base and caught fire, the California Highway Patrol said.
The driver, whose name was not released, was heading west on
Hammonton-Smartsville Road about 3 miles from Highway 20 when the vehicle
drifted off the road at about 4:30 p.m. and struck a boulder, said CHP Capt.
Shon Harris.
A witness said "the vehicle was fully engulfed in
flames immediately," according to Harris. "The person was still
inside at the time."
A driver on Hammonton-Smartsville Road stopped to render
aid, but there was nothing he could do, Harris said. A CHP officer also was
nearby and tried to help.
"There are boulders all up in there. He hit one in the
wrong spot," Harris said.
The captain said the accident reminded him of what happens
to a distracted driver, "the type of thing where someone is texting. I
can't say he was. It's the same fact pattern."
The CHP stopped traffic at Highway 20 and
Hammonton-Smartsville Road, while Air Force police stopped vehicles at the
Doolittle Gate. The detours lasted for about two hours, Harris said.
Source: Appeal-Democrat