1 dead in Mendocino County after car goes 100 feet off Highway 101, flips

A man was killed Saturday, south of Willits, after his car went 100 feet down the embankment of a Mendocino County road and flipped, authorities said.

Around 12:40 p.m., the man, whose identity has not yet been released, was driving a Chevrolet Malibu south on Highway 101 when he went around a curve just south of Ridgewood Ranch Road. For an unknown reason, he then went off the west side of the road then over a hill that took him 100 feet down an embankment, where the car flipped onto its roof, California Highway Patrol-Ukiah Sgt. Matt Werle said Sunday.

The mid-size car came to a rest on top of temporary concrete barriers that Caltrans had stored in a dirt patch far off the road, Werle said.

The road was slick from rainstorms and responding CHP officers found tire friction marks on the road.

The driver , who was wearing a seatbelt, was pronounced dead at the crash site.

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office will identify the man, who had an Oregon driver’s license and was in his 30s, after his family is notified.

There were no passengers in the Chevrolet.

CHP-Ukiah is investigating the crash and, based on preliminary findings, determined speed was a factor. Investigators have not found any evidence that the driver was under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

You can reach Staff Writer Madison Smalstig at madison.smalstig@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @madi.smals.