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Crime & Safety

UPDATE: Driver Who Died Near Cloverdale from Fort Bragg

The driver of the vehicle that partially drove off the road was identified as a Fort Bragg man who had been experiencing health problems. No name has yet been released, however.

A Fort Bragg man has been identified as the man who died of a suspected medical problem after his car became disabled on the side of state Highway 128 in Sonoma County north of Cloverdale Tuesday evening a California Highway Patrol officer said.

The elderly driver had pulled his vehicle into a turnout on the side of the road near the Mendocino County line around 7:20 p.m., CHP Officer Kim Lemons said. When he did so, a wheel of his vehicle dropped over the edge of the turnout, and he did not have enough money for a tow, Lemons said.

A Cloverdale towing company declined to tow the car for free, and Cal Fire said it could not tow the car because of liability issues, Lemons said. The driver told the CHP officer who responded that he had a hernia, and that he would sleep in his car if he could not be towed for free, Lemons said.

Because of the driver's frailty, the CHP officer requested a medical evaluation around 8:30 p.m., Lemons said. At that point the driver was sitting in his car with his eyes open and was breathing, but he appeared unresponsive, she said.

The officer retrieved a medical bag from his patrol car and requested an emergency medical response, Lemons said. Medics who responded were unable to revive the man, and he was pronounced dead at the scene around 9 p.m.

A man in another vehicle stopped at the scene and said he knew the driver, Lemons said. The man confirmed that the driver did have a hernia and had appeared to be unhealthy recently. The man said friends had been trying to get the driver to seek medical assistance but that he had refused, Lemons said.

The Sonoma County coroner's office is investigating the man's death. His name has not yet been released.

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