California man becomes latest Sierra snow victim

Forrest William Howard Jr., 45, on Friday became the fourth person to die in a week in a snow-related accident in the Lake Tahoe area. A series of storms left up to 10 feet of snow in the region last week.

Placer County sheriff's deputies said Howard dug a hole in several feet of snow to reach a water valve outside his Northstar vacation home when the accident occurred Friday afternoon.

Howard became stuck head first in the hole when the snow around it caved in, deputies said. Some children later reported the accident, and it took rescuers several minutes to free him.

Paramedics tried to revive him at the scene but he was pronounced dead about an hour later after being flown to Washoe Medical Center in Reno, Nev.

An autopsy by the Washoe County, Nev., coroner's office determined he suffocated from entrapment in the snow.

Howard dug the hole because the water wasn't functioning in his house, said Deputy Coroner Steve Woods.

"He dug through the snow and made a tunnel about 18 inches wide, went into that and opened the box," Woods said. "He had his head and arm down there turning on the valve and evidently the snow caved in on him and he got stuck.

"Yes, it was a freak accident. We don't know how long he was stuck in the hole before the children spotted him."

Earlier Friday, Andrew Miller, 25, of Paradise died in a snowmobile accident on a trail at Squaw Valley Ski Resort, where he was a lift maintenance employee.

Two snowmobiles carrying resort employees were traveling in opposite directions when they suddenly swerved to avoid colliding.

The snowmobiles did not collide, but Miller, a passenger, was thrown and hit in the head by the other snowmobile. Three other resort employees escaped injury.

Early last week, Richard Brown, 67, of Rocklin died at a Reno hospital, four days after hitting a tree while skiing Feb. 3 at Squaw Valley.

A Feb. 6 avalanche near Truckee killed University of California, Berkeley student Malcolm Russell Hart, 21, of Dover, N.H. Three college buddies accompanying him on a sledding expedition survived.

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