Yesterday at around 9:30 am a two vehicle collision occured on Lower Ridge Rd near Forest Products Drive on Sutter Hill. The accident was a bobtail type delivery truck versus a motorcycle. The driver of the motorcycle was transported with major injuries to Sutter Amador Hospital.

The Amador Fire Safe Council is very busy this fire season and has announced a special meeting for today at 1:30pm. The meeting will feature CalFire Amador ElDorado Unit Chief Bill Holmes speaking and giving a presentation on remote viewing cameras; which is considered the latest in fire detection technology. The meeting will be held at the County’s General Services Administration building at 12200 B Airport Rd on Sutter Hill.

Yesterday an accident occurred trapping the driver inside the vehicle in the area of Hwy. 88 and Jackson Valley Road. The driver who called 911 was unsure of his exact location and because his vehicle had traveled off the road and down a steep embankment the vehicle was not visible from the roadway.  The driver said he was surrounded by willow trees so responding emergency crews searched the area with that in mind, but still had a hard time locating the accident.

An urgent message out from the Amador County Sheriff’s Department regarding reaching them. On May 21, 2007, the Amador County Sheriff’s Office was notified by a local citizen who stated that the phone number listed in several of the local phone directories for the Amador County Sheriff’s Office, 257-1305, was not being answered. This is not the correct number to reach us. The correct number for the Amador County Sheriff’s Office is 223-6500.  If there is an emergency please call 911.

Yesterday afternoon a car spotted with out any license plates leaving the Jackson Rancheria Casino was identified as a stolen vehicle after Jackson Rancheria Tribal police became suspicious of the vehicle and its occupants. Once questioned by the tribal police the driver and passenger fled the Rancheria and as law enforcement moved in on the driver and passenger, the driver decided to move on out, at speeds exceeding 100 miles per hour. According to the California Highway Patrol the car, identified as a 2004 Chevrolet Suburban, was spotted leaving the Jackson Rancheria Casino. A Be On The Look Out was broadcast countywide for the car reported stolen out of Fairfield on April 30th.

Friday afternoon was a busy time for local law enforcement here in the county. Besides the bank robbery in Plymouth, several other incidents kept law enforcement and fire hopping beginning around noon when an off duty California Highway Patrol officer was shopping with his family at Wal-Mart and noticed that the customer in front of him was the same man that escaped after a high speed chase just a few weeks ago. Joseph Wages, 21 years old of Pioneer had remained at large since November 28th when an Amador County Sheriff’s Deputy noticed that a vehicle that had been reported stolen was being driven on Defender Grade Rd. in the upcountry area.

Two years ago an underage, unlicensed donut delivery boy was killed in Calaveras County while on a delivery run after he passed over the double lines of Hwy 4 in Douglas Flat. The boy hit another car head on and now his boss, the donut store owner’s son, has been charged with manslaughter.

The California Highway Patrol is reporting several accidents over the weekend on Amador county roadways. Friday afternoon saw two collision one on Latrobe Rd near the county line and the other at Rocky lane in the Pioneer area. The Latrobe Road collision involved a solo car driven by Joseph Simon, 19 years old of Sacramento, and his passenger, 18 year old Heather Thorton of Rancho Cordova. The pair was southbound on Latrobe in a 1990 Acura Integra when Simon failed to negotiate a turn in the road just after crossing the Cosumnes River, according to the CHP report, due to his level of intoxication. The car skidded off of the roadway, struck a tree and then overturned. Simon was arrested at the scene for suspicion of driving under the influence. 

A Folsom man suffered major injuries yesterday afternoon in a single vehicle collision involving him and his Harley. The accident occurred at about 12:13 pm on Sutter Creek Rd. The man, who remains unidentified, was airlifted from Westover Field to Mercy San Juan Hospital. The collision is under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.

Special fire restrictions will be implemented in the Eldorado National Forest beginning June 18, this is about a month earlier than normal.   Eldorado National Forest Supervisor Ramiro Villalvazo signed a forest order that restricts campfires and charcoal barbeques to designated developed campgrounds and prohibits other fire related activities until the end of fire season. The fire restrictions affect the entire Eldorado National Forest including wilderness areas. “Below normal annual precipitation has left the Forest drier and more susceptible to wildfire than last year,” said Eldorado National Forest Management Officer Bob Patton. “The current drying trend is heading us in the direction we went in 2001 and 2004 when we had fires that exceeded 10,000 acres in size. We passed a threshold this month where 100 acre fires are possible. It’s way too early in the season for that to occur.”