LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — A Lakeport man died Saturday in a solo-vehicle crash in the Cow Mountain Recreation area.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office identified the crash victim as William John Sappington, 64.
The California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office said its officers responded to the crash at approximately 10:39 a.m. Saturday.
The CHP said the crash occurred on Trail 17, near Scotts Creek Road, in the Cow Mountain Recreation Area.
The CHP’s Monday report said that its officers’ preliminary investigation indicates that Sappington was driving his 2007 Toyota sport utility vehicle northbound on Trail 17 at an unknown speed.
For reasons that the CHP said are still being investigated, Sappington’s Toyota traveled off the trail, and overturned down an embankment an unknown number of times.
Sappington, who the CHP said was not wearing his seat belt, was ejected while his SUV overturned down the embankment.
The CHP said Sappington died at the scene of his injuries.
Neither alcohol nor drug use are suspected in this collision, the CHP said.
The CHP said the collision remains under investigation.
At the time Sappington’s wreck occurred Saturday morning, the Bureau of Land Management was holding a cleanup and beautification event based at the Westside Staging Area at South Cow Mountain as part of National Public Lands Day.
BLM officials did not respond by the end of the business day on Monday to Lake County News’ questions about whether Sappington had been a volunteer taking part in the cleanup event.
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Lakeport man dies in Cow Mountain crash
- Elizabeth Larson
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