Man's death may be linked to Foresthill Road crash

By Gus Thomson, Journal Staff WriterThe death of a Foresthill man at his home was being investigated Monday by the Placer County Sheriff?s Department to determine whether it was linked to a fatal vehicle crash he was involved in a day earlier.Robert Lea Harper, 55, was found dead at his Foresthill home on Friday. The county coroner is delaying pronouncement of an official cause of death until an investigation has concluded and blood toxicology tests are in, Capt. Rick Armstrong said Monday.Harper was driver and sole occupant of a Toyota four-wheel-drive pickup that crossed over a double-solid line on Foresthill Road at Todd Valley Road and into the path of a compact car driven by 34-year-old Richard Lee Dorer.Dorer, owner-operator of Dorer?s Professional Tree Care of Foresthill, was rushed to Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital but pronounced dead about 35 minutes after the collision. The accident occurred at about 7 p.m. His compact Toyota Corolla overturned onto its roof from the force of the collision.Harper complained of head and neck pain but was discharged that night from Sutter Roseville Medical Center.Armstrong said investigators want to determine whether Harper?s death was connected to injuries sustained in the collision, to medication that was prescribed to him after the crash, or to a factor completely unrelated to the crash.Also injured in the crash were Dorer?s 14-year-old daughters. One suffered cuts to the face and general pain. The other suffered major trauma to the face, a California Highway Patrol report said.Dorer, a Placer High School graduate and father of three, will be remembered at a memorial service scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday in Foresthill Divide Middle School. Memorial donations may be made to the Richard Dorer Memorial Fund, Acct. No. 592484228, Placer Sierra Bank, P.O. Box 614, Foresthill, CA 95631.