Accident Victim Identified

Twain Harte, CA — The C.H.P. has released the name of the deceased in that single vehicle accident near the East Ave. Bridge early this morning.

55 year old Ronald Alan Loewen was killed with he apparently lost control of his 1989 Toyota pickup truck on early morning ice. The vehicle left the roadway, rolled down an embankment and impacted a tree. The C.H.P. investigation indicates that Loewen always left his residence at approximately the same time. That would dictate that the accident probably occurred close to 5:50am.

Loewen and the pickup truck were discovered by a motorist who had stopped to assist another motorist whose vehicle had hit a guardrail. That was approximately 6:35am.

According to Officer Mike Remmel Loewen was on his way to work at Van’s Cabinet Shop near Pappa’s New Roost Restaurant on Hwy 108 when the accident occurred. Loewen was wearing his seatbelt and alcohol was not a contributing factor.

Loewen’s death marks the third traffic related fatality of the year in Tuolumne County.

Written by bill.johnson@mlode.com