Crescent City, CA : Missing woman found dead in crash on Monday October 3 2016

Investigators are still investigating what caused a crash that took the life of a Humboldt County woman, whose car was discovered Monday, on its top at the bottom of a cliff off U.S. 199.

Mary Lynn Dezern, 40, was reported missing after failing to arrive in Oregon as scheduled, according to a poster on the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page.

Investigating California Highway Patrol Officer Mark Bailey said the car was discovered by Del Norte County Search and Rescue at about 1:20 p.m. Tire marks near Mile Marker 8.4 led searchers to discover the car upside down about 126 feet down a steep bank next to the Smith River. Bailey said only the rear tire of the black Nissan coupe was visible from the side of the road.

The crash was one of many during a weekend of heavy rains and hail but the only one resulting in a fatality.

CHP reported four other vehicle crashes in the area Sunday afternoon. While it was not confirmed if rain was the primary cause, all crashes happened on wet roads or in the rain.

At the fatal crash Monday, personnel from CALFIRE, the Sheriff’s Office, Gasquet Fire Department and CHP were onscene during the recovery.

Bailey said Dezern’s car was damaged extensively but preliminary investigations were unable to show any cause for the crash. It is also undetermined how long it had been over the embankment before it was discovered.

U.S. 199 was shut down for about 85 minutes until the car could be pulled back up to the road and onto a flatbed tow truck. There, Gasquet Fire Department cut the roof from the car to extricate the body.

Bailey praised the work of Search and Rescue who arrived with about 20 volunteers.


Source :
Missing woman found dead in crash