A father and his two sons died Saturday after a tragic car accident on Highway 70 near Pulga, about 30 miles north of Oroville. The family’s vehicle went over an embankment and plunged more than 100 feet down into the frigid Feather River near Oroville.

•   A 16-year-old boy passed a motorhome on a rain-slicked two-lane highway and lost control of his vehicle when it fishtailed.

•   The car slid over an embankment and into a fast-moving river, 100 feet below.

•   Despite the teen’s heroic attempts to rescue his father and his 9-year-old brother, they all drowned.

The highway accident occurred at 2:30 p.m.on Saturday, according to a report in the Chico Enterprise-Record.

Authorities initially said the father, 35-year-old Jameson Olson, was driving the 2001 Pontiac Firebird at the time of the accident, but investigators later determined that his son, 16-year-old Cody Jameson, actually was behind the wheel.

California Highway Patrol spokesman Doug Garrett said the Firebird was heading west on two-lane Highway 70 and had gone through the last tunnel just over the Plumas-Butte county line. A slower-moving motorhome was in front of the Firebird.

After the tunnel, there is a small passing area. The motorhome moved over to the right lane to make room for the Firebird pass. Occupants of the Firebird later told the CHP the Firebird went around it in the passing lane but was not traveling at high speed.

After the Firebird passed — and the highway went back to two lanes — the teen attempted to steer the car back into the single lane in front of the motorhome. But he appararently overcorrected and the Firebird started fishtailing, according to a KHSL News report. The vehicle went out of control, hit the gravel shoulder, slid over the embankment, and plummeted into the river 100 feet below.

All three occupants of the Firebird were able to get out of the vehicle and were trying to survive in the cold, fast-moving water. Cody rushed to rescue his little brother,  9-year-old James Olson, and was able to get him over to some large rocks.

James was clinging to the rocks, with his body partly in the water, when Cody swam after his father, who was tumbling downstream with the current. Investigators believe James may have let go of the rocks and gone after Cody to try to help rescue their dad.

Despite the boys’ heroic efforts, they were unsuccessful. Search and rescue teams found both James and his father and pulled them out of the water. They administered CPR and rushed them to a local hospital, but it was too late. Both of them were pronounced dead at the hospital.

Cody was not found by 8:30 p.m., when the search was called off for the night because of darkness. PG&E held back water at the Cresta Forebay, upstream of the accident site, to slow the water flow from 820 cubic feet per second to 215.  Search teams finally found the teen’s body Sunday at 3 p.m.

Officials said it was tragic that all three died.

“We would have thought at least a couple of them would have lived,” Garrett said.

There was no indication that alcohol was involved or that the car was traveling too fast, Garrett said. It had been stormy and the road was wet, which may had played a role in the fishtailing.

The Butte County Coroner’s Office said the three victims probably drowned, but the official cause of death had not been determined as of Monday, Garrett said. Autopsies were expected on all three victims.

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have successfully represented car accident injury victims for 35 years.  The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is  1-866-692-8126.