A 19-year-old Garden Valley woman died this morning in a head-on collision on Lotus Road in rural El Dorado County.
California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Quinn Cuthbertson said the woman was driving a silver Ford Focus southbound on Lotus Road south of Highway 49 near Coloma about 8:30 a.m. when for an unknown reason she crossed into the northbound lane, into the path of a white Ford Explorer.
Cuthbertson said the driver of the Focus did not appear to have been wearing a seat belt and suffered fatal injuries. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Her name has not been released pending notification of family.
The driver of the Explorer, a 42-year-old man from Sacramento, was transported by air ambulance to Sutter Roseville Medical Center with complaints of pain. Cuthbertson said the man was treated and released.
The cause of the crash is under investigation.