Quincy authorities faced a bizarre coincidence as a second rollover occurred within days of a prior collision where the driver was missing.
Last Wednesday, Plumas Search and Rescue discovered an overturned vehicle without a driver at the bottom of SR 70, submerged in the Feather River. Fearing that the driver or passengers may have drifted downstream, ground personnel and a CHP helicopter joined search efforts but found no results.
The Quincy CHP investigated the collision and later found the driver, who reported the incident two days after it occurred. The driver, identified as 38-year-old Tommie Beard of Redding, was traveling on SR 70 just before 5 a.m. west of Rush Creek Road when she allowed her vehicle to drift out of the westbound lane, cross the highway, and onto the south dirt and gravel shoulder.
In an attempt to regain control, Ms. Beard forcefully applied the brakes, but the car plunged over the edge of the shoulder and began a rollover sequence, ultimately coming to rest with its front end submerged in the East Branch North Fork Feather River. Remarkably, she escaped the submerged vehicle and fled the scene, eventually making her way back to Susanville.
Authorities are investigating the circumstances surrounding the delay in reporting and the details of the accident.
Photo by Plumas SAR
