By Michael McGough
The Sacramento Bee
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office deputy was identified Wednesday afternoon as the motorist killed in a single-vehicle crash early that morning amid wet, windy conditions brought on by a Northern California storm.
Deputy James Caravallo died in a crash just before 6 a.m. while driving to work at the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center, according to a Sheriff’s Office social media post and California Highway Patrol news release.
The crash was reported just before 6 a.m. on Franklin Boulevard north of Point Pleasant Road, about 2 miles south of Elk Grove, according to Officer Michael Harper, a spokesperson for the CHP’s South Sacramento office.
Harper said Caravallo was driving a Chevrolet southbound on Franklin Boulevard at an unknown speed when he lost control of the vehicle. The car crossed into the oncoming lane, traveled onto the east shoulder and struck a metal power pole on the driver’s side.
The Sheriff’s Office in a post to X just before 3:30 p.m. said Caravallo died while driving to Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center , a county jail facility near Elk Grove. Sheriff’s Office spokesperson Lt. Amar Gandhi confirmed Caravallo died in the Franklin Boulevard collision.
The CHP in a news release said drugs and alcohol did not appear to be factors in the crash and that the driver lost control due to the wet roadway.
The crash marked one of several taking place on roadways throughout the Sacramento region as a strong storm brought heavy rain and gusty, southerly winds across the Sacramento Valley and Sierra foothills on the morning of Christmas Eve .
National Weather Service forecasters canceled a flood advisory for Sacramento, but a flood watch remains in place for much of Northern California through 4 p.m. Friday, with more rounds of rain expected on Christmas Day.
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The Bee’s Daniel Hunt contributed to this story.
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