Couple identified in Squaw Valley crash

A couple who died Saturday evening in a Squaw Valley vehicle crash has been identified by the Fresno County Sheriff-Coroner’s office.

The driver was Saan Yoon Saephanh, 52 and the passenger was Ka Thao, 48, both of Squaw Valley.

Saephanh was driving west on Highway 180, west of Ruth Hill Road, just after 6:30 p.m. when he left the highway and entered a dirt shoulder on the north side, the California Highway Patrol said. He then veered to the left and crossed all lanes of the highway then entered a dirt shoulder on the south. The vehicle traveled down the slope of the southern shoulder and overturned several times before coming to rest several hundred feet from the highway.

The driver and the passenger were both thrown from the vehicle. Alcohol and drugs are not believed to be a factor in the crash.

This story was originally published August 8, 2016 at 3:57 PM with the headline "Couple identified in Squaw Valley crash."