LOWER LAKE – A noted car builder died this past weekend as the result of a vehicle crash.

Maynard Albertson, 69, of Sonoma died in a Saturday morning crash south of the city of Sonoma, according to Napa California Highway Patrol Officer Randall Wayne.

Wayne said Albertson was driving in a 2002 kit car made to resemble a 1930s-era vehicle when the crash happened.

Albertson was driving at an unknown speed southbound on Highway 12 north of Shainsky Road when the car went off the east roadway edge and collided with a dirt embankment, said Wayne.

The crash caused Albertson to be ejected from the car and he sustained fatal injuries, said Wayne.

Wayne said Albertson wasn't wearing a seat belt, and it appeared that none had been installed in the kit car, despite the fact that they were required.

Albertson was listed as head of the design department for the Lower Lake-based Konocti Motor Co., which builds vintage-style project cars. The company did not return a call seeking comment.

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