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Palo Alto Couple Crashes Plane In Tahoe; Husband Dead, Wife Survives

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE (KPIX 5) -- A Palo Alto man was killed and his wife injured in a small plane crash Monday after taking off from the South Lake Tahoe Airport, authorities said.

An off-duty nurse walking her dog noticed the crash wreckage in a wooded area about 11:15 a.m. and notified authorities, said El Dorado County Sheriff's Lt. Pete Van Arnum.

He identified the deceased as Steven Lefton of Palo Alto, who was piloting the single-engine Mooney M20.

His wife Karen Lefton, the lone passenger on the plane, was freed by rescuers after being trapped in the wreckage. She was being treated for non-life threatening injuries at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating the cause of the crash.

(Copyright 2013 CBS San Francisco. Allr ights reserved.)

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