Grass Valley man dies in Sunday night crash
Oct. 4—A 47-year-old Grass Valley man was killed in a head-on collision Sunday night on State Route 20 in Nevada County after his car hit a vehicle driven by a man from Smartsville.
According to the California Highway Patrol (CHP), Grass Valley officers responded to reports of a crash at about 10:20 p.m. Sunday near Slacks Ravine.
When officers arrived, they determined that a 47-year-old unidentified man from Grass Valley was driving a 2004 Oldsmobile Alero westbound on SR-20 "near Slacks Ravine over crossing at a high rate of speed."
CHP officials said "due to his speed and unsafe driving," the Grass Valley man "allowed the Oldsmobile to cross the center line" and the vehicle collided head-on with a 1996 Jeep Grand Cherokee driven by Anthony Burgan, 35, of Smartsville. Burgan, who had a passenger in his car — 25-year-old Alyssa Brown of Yuba City — was driving eastbound on SR-20 at Slacks Ravine.
The Grass Valley man, who the CHP said a "preliminary investigation indicated" that he was not wearing a seatbelt, was pronounced deceased on the scene by medical responders. Burgan was transported to Sutter Roseville Medical Center with "moderate" injuries and Brown was transported to Adventist Health/Rideout Hospital in Marysville with "major" injuries.
CHP officials said "alcohol impairment is a suspected factor" in the collision.
The deceased man's identification is pending notification.
