Jose Quintero of Lakeport, Calif., died Sunday, January 2, 2011, after his Chevrolet Camaro hit a fence near Upper Lake, Calif. The collision took out about 65 feet of fence, with the vehicle just missing a telephone pole. Quintero's passenger, Rafael Blancas, was uninjured. Photo by Gary McAuley.

Jose Pepe Quintero, 38, was pronounced dead at Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport following the collision, which occurred at 4:35 p.m. Sunday on Upper Lake Lucerne Road north of Highway 20, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Quintero's passenger, 41-year-old Upper Lake resident Rafael Cordell Blancas, was uninjured, the CHP said.

The CHP report, by Officer Nick Powell, explained that Quintero was driving northbound at an unknown rate of speed when his 2001 Chevrolet Camaro drifted to the left and hit a wooden fence.

The California Highway Patrol took statements from the witnesses who were first to respond to the scene of a crash on Upper Lake Lucerne Road near Upper Lake, Calif., on Sunday, January 2, 2011. Photo by Gary McAuley.

Quintero's Camaro hit several fence posts and 2-inch by 6-inch cross members during the collision, with one of the cross members going through the driver's side windshield and striking Quintero in the face, Powell's report said.

A large piece of wood also was stuck in the front of the car below the passenger-side headlights, according to photographs of the crash.

Five CHP units, two Lake County Sheriff's units and Northshore Fire Protection District – with two engines, two medic units, a battalion chief and Chief Jim Robbins – responded, according to reports from the scene.

The CHP reported that Quintero was placed under arrest for suspicion of driving under the influence before he was picked up for transport by REACH air ambulance.

CHP reports indicated that Quintero originally was being flown out of county to medical care, but that he went into full arrest and so REACH was diverted to Sutter Lakeside, where several of Quintero's family members had gathered.

Quintero was pronounced dead just after 6 p.m., Powell reported.

Powell's report said Quintero was wearing his seat belt, but it was unknown if Blancas was wearing his.

Lake County News correspondent Gary McAuley contributed to this report.

E-mail Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow Lake County News on Twitter at http://twitter.com/LakeCoNews , on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Lake-County-News/143156775604?ref=mf and on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/user/LakeCoNews .

A piece of the fence was lodged in the front of the crash, which occurred on Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011, near Upper Lake, Calif. Photo by Gary McAuley.

A REACH air ambulance lands on the Wetmore property near Upper Lake, Calif., on Sunday, Jan. 2, 2011. The helicopter transported Jose Quintero to nearby Sutter Lakeside Hospital in Lakeport, Calif., where he succumbed to his injuries in an afternoon car crash. Photo by Gary McAuley.