1 man killed, another seriously injured after car slams into tree in SLO County
One man was killed and another suffered major injuries in a car crash Sunday evening in an unincorporated area of northern San Luis Obispo County, the California Highway Patrol said in a news release Monday.
At around 7:19 p.m., CHP officers and an ambulance responded to a single-vehicle crash on Nacimiento Lake Drive near Frazier Road.
According to the release, 44-year-old Paso Robles resident Joseph Mitchell Pate was driving westbound in a 2015 Chevrolet Camaro at an “unknown speed” when “for unknown reasons” the car careened off the north edge of the road.
The CHP said Pate turned left and over-corrected, causing the car to cross both traffic lanes and collide with a tree south of the road.
A 48-year-old man and Paso Robles resident in the backseat of the car “succumbed to his injuries at the scene,” according to the release.
CHP will release the deceased man’s name after notifying his next of kin, CHP spokesperson Ryan Armstrong told The Tribune.
Pate sustained major injuries and was immediately placed under arrest on suspicion of driving under the influence, CHP said. He was taken to Adventist Health Sierra Vista hospital in San Luis Obispo to receive treatment.
Another passenger in the front passenger seat, Mack Garcia, 41 of Paso Robles, sustained minor injuries due to the crash, according to the release.
CHP’s Templeton office is continuing to investigate the crash, the release said.
