Oroville, CA : Two drivers were killed in a crash on Tuesday, August 8, 2017

Two drivers were killed Tuesday morning in a crash on Highway 70 near Oroville.

The crash happened about 5:45 a.m., when the driver of a 2001 Ford Taurus was speeding northbound and attempting to pass another vehicle south of Ophir Road, said officer Justin Wallace of the California Highway Patrol.

The driver of the Ford struck a southbound 2006 Chevrolet HHR head on, causing the Ford to catch fire, Wallace said.

Highway 70 is one lane in each direction where the wreck happened.

Both drivers died at the scene. The adult driver of the Ford was not immediately identified. The driver of the Chevrolet was identified as Paradise resident Paul Inman, by Caltrans District 3 spokesman Gilbert Mohtes-Chan.

Inman was the supervisor of District 3’s stencil and striping team, Mohtes-Chan said, and was on his way to work in Marysville at the time of the crash. He’d been with Caltrans for more than 16 years.

“It’s kind of rough when it’s one of your own,” Mohtes-Chan said, adding that Inman’s father also worked for Caltrans in Marysville.

No passengers were in either car.

Wallace said the driver of the Ford made an unsafe pass and also may not have been driving with the car’s headlights on.

Whether drugs or alcohol were involved was not immediately known.

Taking into account crash stats previously published in this newspaper, 11 people have now died this year in crashes along the stretch of Highway 70 south of Ophir Road.

Local politicians have called for the stretch of Highway 70 from Oroville to Marysville to be expanded to four lanes.

The project furthest along would add passing lanes between Ophir Road and Palermo Road, but construction isn’t expected until 2019-20.

Source :
Two die in crash on Highway 70 near Oroville