Suspected DUI driver in Mendocino County double fatal crash

The CHP arrested a 62-year-old Fort Bragg man, suspecting him of being impaired during a crash that killed his two passengers.|
RANDI ROSSMANN
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

A Fort Bragg man remained in custody Monday, suspected of vehicular manslaughter and DUI following a crash on a rural Mendocino County highway that killed his two passengers, according to authorities.

CHP officers arrested Timothy Beltram, 62, after the Friday night crash on Highway 20 between Fort Bragg and Willits.

Mendocino County Jail records Monday showed Beltram was in custody with bail set at $200,000. He’d been arrested on suspicion of two felonies, DUI causing bodily injury and gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated.

The names of the two victims weren’t available Monday as their families haven’t been notified, a Mendocino County sheriff’s official said.

Beltram was driving west about 8:30 p.m. when his vehicle rolled down an embankment and one passenger was thrown, according to news reports.

One passenger died at the scene and the other was taken to Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital and later died, according to authorities.

Beltram was booked into the jail about 8 a.m. Saturday, jail records showed.

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