Fatal crash south of Lake Tahoe claims life of Carson City man

11:00 a.m. update February 2 - A 30-year-old Carson City resident died in the Wednesday night three-car crash at the top of Luther Pass on SR89 near Grass Lake. The unidentified man was driving a Ford F150 northbound at about 4:29 p.m. when, for unknown reasons, drifted to the right. A witness told the California Highway Patrol (CHP) that the driver then overcorrected and went into oncoming traffic.

The driver of the truck hit a southbound Chevy 4500 flatbed owned by PR Supply of Minden, Nev. It was being driven by a 36-year-old Gardnerville man when the Ford hit struck it in the middle and rear of the left side. A third vehicle, a Subaru Forester driven by a 35-year-old man, also of Gardnerville, was traveling behind the Chevy and received major damage.

The driver of the Ford was pronounced deceased at the scene. His name has not been released but CHP did say his parents are from the South Lake Tahoe area.

In the Subaru were the male driver, a 72-year-old female passenger and a 2-year-old child. The adults received injuries and were transported to Barton Hospital with non-life threatening injuries. The child was uninjured but transported to be with the adults.

According to Officer Ruth Loehr of the CHP in Meyers, two of the vehicles were taken for evidence due to the nature of the collision. As a precautionary procedure, their team will analyze them to see if mechanical issues played a part. Once their investigation is completed the vehicles will be released.

SR89 was closed in both directions from the time of the accident to 7:44 p.m.

The collision is still under investigation and no more details have been released at this time.

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8:30 p.m. update: SR89 has been reopened in both directions after an earlier accident closed the road near Big Meadows. CHP is still compiling a report and details are unavailable at this time. There was one fatality.

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7:20 p.m. Update: The CHP office in Truckee said that SR89 should be open around 7:45 p.m. tonight. Details of the accident are not yet available.

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Both lanes of SR-89 have been closed four miles south of Meyers due to an accident according to the California Highway Patrol. As of 6:30 p.m. Wednesday evening there is no estimated time of reopening. There is no detour in the area.