Fatal accident in the Feather River Canyon

The sirens that alarmed Quincy residents yesterday morning, Aug. 21, were the sounds of emergency personnel going to the scene of an accident near Twain.

This morning the California Highway Patrol released its collision report on the incident that claimed the life of an Oliverhurst man.

According to the CHP report, Christian Dolan, 62, of Olivehurst was driving his 1994 Chevrolet Silverado pickup eastbound on Highway 70 just east of the Twain store about 9:06 a.m., at an excessive rate of speed. Dolan entered a moderate right hand curve, but allowed his Silverado to continue straight through the curve, cross over the double yellow centerline and enter the westbound lane. Dolan then forcefully applied the brakes of the Silverado and entered a locked wheel skid.

The Silverado skidded out of the westbound lane, across the north dirt shoulder of Highway 70, and then went airborne across a deep ditch. The front of the Silverado impacted violently in a head-on manner with the mountainside, bring the vehicle to a sudden stop. The Silverado came to rest facing east in the ditch north of the highway. Dolan succumbed to his injuries before emergency personnel arrived on scene.