Three people died near Sloughhouse when their car rolled after leaving the roadway early this morning.
A driver and three passengers were in the 2001 Mazda Millennia traveling north on Sloughhouse Road about 3 a.m when the accident occurred, according to the California Highway Patrol.
When the car got to where Sloughhouse Road intersects with Jackson Highway, the driver failed to stop. The car then traveled over Jackson Highway and into a field.
The driver, who was ejected from the vehicle, and two of the passengers died.
A CHP news release identified the driver as Stephen G. Johnson, 26, of Rancho Cordova. Backseat passengers Maurice M. Waters II, 20, and Christian T. Bishop, 18, both of Walnut Creek, also died in the crash, according to the release.
A third passenger, Kevin S. Wardley, 24, of Lincoln, who was seated in the front passenger's seat, was transported to UC Davis Medical Center in critical condition, the release states.
California Highway Patrol officer Jasper Begay said the group in the car had been in Sacramento at a nightclub earlier. They then traveled eastbound on Highway 16 with a group in another car headed for a Jackson casino.
The vehicles turned right on Sloughhouse Road for unknown reasons, said Begay. They then turned around and decided to head back north on Sloughhouse Road and return to Highway 16.
The vehicle in the lead was driving fast on Sloughhouse Road when the car hit a dip in the roadway just before Highway 16, said Begay. When the car came up over the rise, the vehicle missed the turn and ended up rolling into a field.
The group in the trailing vehicle had lost sight of the now-wrecked car and drove onto Highway 16. However, they heard a horn sounding and turned around. Down in a ditch, they found the wrecked car.
The CHP is investigating whether alcohol was involved in the crash.
Bee staff writer Matt Kawahara contributed to this report.
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