Deputy Killed Driving to Fatal Plane Crash
Two people died when their Piper plane crashed in California’s gold country Monday, and a sheriff’s deputy was killed speeding to the scene to help them.
The aircraft, registered out of Gardnerville, Nev., went down about 11 a.m. after leaving the Columbia airport. Witnesses say the plane sputtered and fell, bursting into flames and starting a brush fire that was extinguished.
A veteran Tuolumne County sheriff’s deputy responding to the crash lost control of his vehicle on Highway 49 and slammed into a tree, said Sgt. Roger Dittberner. The deputy’s name was withheld pending notification of his family.
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