LAKE COUNTY, Calif. – Authorities are continuing their investigations into three fatal vehicle crashes that have occurred over the past month.

The crashes occurred June 27, July 2, July 6, and claimed a total of four lives.

In the first, two men died when the 2005 Toyota Scion they were traveling in on Morgan Valley Road near Lower Lake went off the road, hit a tree and burst into flames.

The Lake County Sheriff's Office is leading the coroner's investigation.

Officer Kory Reynolds of the California Highway Patrol's Clear Lake Area office said the effort to identify the two men is still under way.

The second incident, which occurred on July 2, involved a box truck and two vehicles on Highway 29 south of Highway 175/Cobb.

Truck driver Robert Ochoa, 27, from Meridian died from injuries he sustained when the truck he was driving overturned after hitting two passenger vehicles, according to the CHP.

Witnesses said they saw 24-year-old Justin Brink of Clearlake – driving a 2013 Mazda 3 southbound – cross the double-yellow lines into the northbound lanes and into the path of the 2008 International refrigerated box truck Ochoa was driving.

Reynolds said investigators haven't yet determined why Brink's vehicle went into Ochoa's path.

“All aspects are being looked into,” from texting to the possibility that substances were involved, Reynolds said.

The third incident still under investigation is a fatal hit-and-run on Highway 20 west of Saratoga Springs near Upper Lake on the night of July 6.

A man was found unresponsive on the south shoulder of the highway, the CHP said. He subsequently was declared dead at the scene by firefighters.

Authorities have not yet released the name of the man, Reynolds said.

Reynolds previously reported that an autopsy ruled that the man's cause of death was blunt force trauma caused by a motor vehicle collision.

The CHP and the Lake County Sheriff's Office are jointly investigating the crash.

Reynolds said the man who died was walking alone along the highway when he was hit by a vehicle which authorities are still working to identify.

The CHP has been able to confirm that the man had made contact that night with some people in the area who had given him a sweatshirt, Reynolds said.

Reynolds acknowledged that the case so far has been a baffling one for investigators.

He said the CHP is continuing to follow up on leads and is creating a timeline of the events leading to the man's death.

Anyone with information about the crash should contact the CHP's Clear Lake Area office, 707-279-0103.

Email Elizabeth Larson at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Follow her on Twitter, @ERLarson, or Lake County News, @LakeCoNews.