A 21-year-old woman died in a vehicle crash that happened early Monday morning in South Lake Tahoe. Two were flown by air ambulance to Renown Medical Center in Reno. Their conditions are unknown at this time. The deceased woman is from South Lake Tahoe, a police officer said.
The accident involved a crash into a retaining wall at Pioneer Trail and Edna Street at around 4:30 a.m., said South Lake Tahoe Police Department Lt. David Stevenson. Fire Department and police arrived on scene and discovered two people in the car and one in the roadway. There was a female driver, female front passenger, and a male in the street, said Stevenson. Police believe the male had been a passenger in the backseat of the four-door sedan.
The female driver and the male were flown by helicopter to Reno area hospitals with unknown injuries. The front female passenger was pronounced dead at the scene. The identity of the 21-year-old woman is being withheld pending family notification by the El Dorado County sheriff and coroner.
The cause of this crash is still under investigation. The early indication is the door sedan was traveling west on Pioneer Trail east of Glenwood Drive. The vehicle appears to have lost control and slid off the roadway striking a retaining wall on the south/west corner of Edna St. and Pioneer. High speed may have been a factor.
It’s unknown at this time if alcohol intoxication by the driver was also a factor, but is being investigated, said Stevenson. A small section of Pioneer Trail remains closed at April Drive as of Monday morning. Vehicles are being rerouted around the closure.