U.S. Highway 50 is closed near Kyburz Monday morning after a head-on collision between two vehicles left people with major injuries, according to the California Highway Patrol. The crash was reported just before 8 a.m. just west of the 30 Mile Stone Tract, and a CHP SIG Alert was issued at 8:29 a.m.
Initial CHP logs indicated that one of the vehicles may have gone off the roadway and into water, according to CBS Sacramento. No further details were immediately available about the specific injuries or how the crash unfolded. Caltrans and the CHP Placerville office had no estimated time for reopening as of Monday afternoon, and drivers were directed to find alternative routes until further notice.
A Dangerous Stretch of Canyon Highway
Monday's crash is the latest in a string of severe collisions along this narrow stretch of U.S. 50, which threads through the South Fork American River Canyon connecting the Sacramento region to Lake Tahoe. The corridor includes undivided two-lane sections, according to Wikipedia's entry on the highway.
In July, a head-on collision between a Jeep Grand Cherokee and a BMW X3 in Kyburz left five people with major injuries, four of whom had to be airlifted by medical helicopter, and closed the highway for nearly two hours, per South Tahoe Now. In December 2025, two adults from Reno were killed and two children were hospitalized with major injuries after their pickup truck left U.S. 50 just east of Kyburz and struck a tree, a crash detailed by Placerville NewsWire.
Hoodline reported in August that a 21-year-old El Dorado County correctional officer died when his vehicle lost control near 41 Mile Stone Road in Strawberry and plunged 70 feet down an embankment into the river canyon.
Safety Barriers on U.S. 50
Caltrans has addressed similar head-on crash risks elsewhere on U.S. 50. In 2022, the agency was carrying out a $55.4 million safety project in nearby Camino that included installing a continuous 56-inch concrete median barrier and a vehicle undercrossing along a three-mile stretch to reduce cross-centerline collisions, according to a Caltrans news release.
Caltrans District 3 has programmed a pavement preservation and safety project covering 42.7 lane miles of U.S. 50 from Ice House Road through Kyburz and Strawberry for 2025 and 2026, aimed at upgrading nonstandard guardrails and replacing fire-vulnerable culverts with steel and concrete, per Caltrans project records.
Long Detours When the Canyon Closes
When U.S. 50 shuts down through the canyon, as it has Monday, Caltrans and the CHP direct drivers to alternate routes.
No estimated reopening time had been given as of Monday afternoon, and officials urged drivers to avoid the area and seek alternate routes.
