CHP searching for pickup driver in fatal Lake County crash

CHP officers in Lake County were searching for the driver of a white pickup who may have been involved in a rollover crash on Highway 20 early Tuesday that killed a Redwood Valley woman.

The 65-year-old woman was driving a 2010 Toyota Corolla and died after apparently trying to pass the pickup at about 6:15 a.m. on Highway 20 east of Floyd Way in Nice, according to a CHP report. Officials did not release her identity and said that her name would be released by coroner’s staff with the Lake County Sheriff’s Office once her family has been notified.

Witnesses told authorities that the woman was heading west on Highway 20 when she drove into a center two-way turn lane in an apparent attempt to pass the pickup, according to the CHP. As the road curved to the right, the pickup appeared to accelerate, Officer Michael Phillips said in the report.

The Corolla driver then appeared to lose control, veered across the eastbound lane, hit an embankment and rolled, smashing into a large tree, Phillips said. A pedestrian and another motorist witnessed the crash, officials said.

The woman was still wearing a seat belt and seated in the driver’s set when paramedics arrived and found she had died.

Authorities asked anyone with information about the crash, the white pickup and its driver to call the Clear Lake CHP office at 279-0103.

You can reach Staff Writer Julie Johnson at 521-5220 or julie.johnson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @jjpressdem.