UPDATE 5 p.m. Tuesday: The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Office has confirmed that Ryan Hansen Block, then 28, and his then-19-year-old girlfriend were wanted by authorities after sheriff’s narcotics detectives raided a methamphetamine lab near the Paso Robles Municipal Airport in April.
Block had been wanted in connection with the meth lab investigation as well as ongoing burglary cases, and was considered armed and dangerous, the Sheriff’s Office said at the time.
And on Nov. 1, an officer from the Templeton CHP office booked and then released Block after citing him on suspicion of driving with a license that had been suspended or revoked for driving under the influence of alcohol or drug, according to San Luis Obispo County Jail records.
UPDATE 2 p.m. Tuesday: The man who died Monday in a car crash along Highway 101 north of San Luis Obispo has been identified as Ryan Hansen Block, 29, of Shandon, the San Luis Obispo County Sheriff's Office announced Tuesday afternoon.
Block, who was alone in a 2007 Kia Sedona minivan, died on impact when the vehicle he was driving plunged down an embankment near Reservoir Canyon Road.
An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday. No additional details were released Tuesday.
Original story: A 29-year-old Shandon man died when the vehicle he was driving plunged off Highway 101 north of San Luis Obispo and went down a steep 50-foot embankment.
The driver, who was in the minivan alone, died on impact in the Monday morning crash along northbound Highway 101 near Reservoir Canyon Road.
Authorities on Monday did not release his name pending the notification of his family.
Shortly after 8 a.m. the white 2007 Kia Sedona careened off the road, breaking through a fence and ripping several metal posts secured by concrete out of the ground.
The minivan hit several large eucalyptus trees — causing severe damage to the vehicle — before landing down the embankment.
CHP Officer Darren Gennoso, who was the first to respond to the accident, said it appeared that the car was traveling at a high rate of speed.
Gennoso found the driver still restrained in the Sedona with major injuries, and the officer thought that he was likely killed on impact. An autopsy will be done Wednesday.
Authorities said there was a disabled parking placard in the vehicle, but they did not know yet if it belonged to the driver.
Officers are trying to determine what caused the driver to careen off the road.
Anyone who witnessed the accident is asked to call the CHP in San Luis Obispo at 593-3300.
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