A 37-year-old Pine Grove, Calif., man was killed Friday afternoon when the 2006 Corvette he was driving ran off the road on Highway 4 and landed upside down in Silver Creek near Graveyard Curve in Alpine County.
The man's identity has not been released, according to Officer Jeff Gartner of the California Highway Patrol.
According to the highway patrol, the Corvette was first spotted at 1:35 p.m. westbound on Highway 4 about four miles east of Ebbett's Pass. The driver came around a curve and crossed into the path of an eastbound patrol car driven by Officer Ebon Slack.
As Slack turned around to pursue the Corvette, it accelerated out of sight. Slack broadcast the vehicle's description to the Alpine County Sheriff's Department. About 20 minutes later, Slack spotted the Corvette stopped in the middle of the road talking to the driver of a yellow Porsche. Slack turned on his patrol lights and the driver of the Corvette pulled over to the side of the road.
The driver told Slack he didn't have a license and the vehicle belonged to his girlfriend.
When Slack asked for the keys to the car, the driver accelerated away. The Corvette was able to evade Slack and other Alpine County Sheriff's vehicles that arrived in the vicinity.
At about 2:34 p.m. authorities received a call that the Corvette was upside down in Silver Creek and the driver was dead.
