Truck Plunges into River, Killing 2 Calif. PG&E Workers

Two utility workers died after their truck plunged into a reservoir along a Northern California river as they were returning from a job.

The Pacific Gas and Electric Co. employees drowned Thursday when their company truck skidded off the road and sank 25 feet into Rock Creek Reservoir on the Feather River near Belden, the California Highway Patrol said. Two other PG&E workers in the truck managed to escape.

The CHP identified the victims as Ryan Patrick Miles, 29, of Chico and Aaron Joseph Weiss, 31, of Paradise. The four were returning from work in Caribou through Plumas National Forest when the crash occurred.

Miles was at the wheel when the truck’s tires drifted off the road onto the dirt shoulder, the CHP said. The Ford F550 went into an uncontrollable skid when the he tried to steer back onto the road, which sent the truck plummeting into the water.

Investigators said the vehicle sank quickly and came to rest so deep in the water that it was not visible from the surface despite having its lights on. The victims’ bodies were not recovered until about two hours after the crash when divers attached cables to the truck and the vehicle was towed to the surface.

Company spokesman Paul Moreno said PG&E extends its sympathies and was seeking ways to support the killed workers’ families.