PHOTOS/VIDEO: An off-duty Truckee Meadows Fire and Rescue battalion chief and his wife were killed in a crash outside South Lake Tahoe on Sunday, leaving their two young children hospitalized with major injuries. The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office Coroner Division on Wednesday identified the victims as 42-year-old Ryan Paul Rizzuto and 41-year-old Danielle Marie Rizzuto, both of Reno. The couple died when their Chevrolet pickup truck veered off Highway 50 in Kyburz and slammed into a tree on December 7.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the vehicle went off the roadway at what investigators believe was an unsafe speed. CHP does not suspect impairment played a role in the crash. The couple’s children, ages 8 and 11, were airlifted to a Reno hospital with serious injuries. The Truckee Meadows Fire Protection District said the agency is “deeply saddened” and grieving the sudden loss of one of its own.
“Our entire TMFPD family is grieving this unexpected loss,” the district said in a statement. Out of respect for the family, officials declined to share further details surrounding his passing, instead asking the community and media for space as loved ones mourn.
