Woman killed in fiery car crash off Highway 41
A woman died on Sunday evening after her car veered off Highway 41 near Shandon and crashed, causing a fire that burned into nearby vegetation, according to the CHP.
The woman was driving a Volkswagen Jetta on the highway “at a high rate of speed” north of Shedd Canyon Road about 6:55 p.m., a CHP news release said.
The vehicle veered toward the right side of the roadway “for unknown reasons,” entered a descending drainage ditch and hit a concrete drain, the release said.
According to the CHP, the front of the car crashed into the drain, causing it to rotate in a clockwise direction. The left side of the car hit the road before it came to rest in the ditch facing south, the agency said.
The impact caused the car to catch on fire and become fully engulfed in flames, according to the release.
The woman was able to crawl out the driver’s side of the vehicle, the CHP said, but she ultimately died from her injuries next to the car.
Cal Fire responded to the scene and extinguished the car fire, along with a nearby vegetation fire.
Firefighters were able to contain the fire that spread from the car crash to a 60-foot by 100-foot area, according to a Cal Fire tweet.
The San Luis Obispo County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office responded to take possession of the driver’s body.
The CHP has not yet identified the driver who died in the crash and is still investigating the circumstances that led to the incident.
This story was originally published July 26, 2021 at 10:43 AM.
