Sonora, CA…Yesterday afternoon a 71 year old Sonoa man lost his life in a fire that broke out after his Jeep was involved in an accident. The vehicle was stopped in a driveway on Red Harbor Dr. For unknown reasons the vehicle rolled backwards down the steep driveway. The vehicle rolled southbound across Red Heather Drive and traveled down a steep embankment. The vehicle struck several rocks as it traveled backwards down the embankment before the rear of the jeep struck a tree and came to a stop.

Vegetation around the vehicle caught fire and the vegetation fire grew to several acres in size and firefighters on the ground and air brought the fire under control. The driver of the vehicle was pronounced deceased at the scenes due to major burns sustained in the fire.

It is not known if the drive was in control of the vehicle and accidentally backed down, or if the vehicle was rolling accidentally and the driver was trying to regain control. The cause of the collision is under investigation.