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Crime & Safety

Chico Man ID's as Victim of Watmaugh Road Accident

By Bay City News Service

The Sonoma County coroner's office today identified the driver who died in a crash near Sonoma on Tuesday as 40-year-old Matthew Allen Gebhardt, of Chico.

Witnesses told investigators that Gebhardt was driving east on state Highway 116 in a 1989 Ford F-250 truck at the 55 mph speed limit when the crash happened at about 12:15 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

Just west of Watmaugh Road, the truck ran off the highway, struck a eucalyptus tree and landed on its roof, CHP Sgt. William Bradshaw said. Gebhardt was ejected from the truck and landed on the south shoulder of the road, Bradshaw said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation. There was no immediate indication of alcohol impairment or a mechanical failure, Bradshaw said.

An autopsy was scheduled for this morning.

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