By Cathy Locke, Sacramento Bee

The El Dorado County Sheriff’s Department is investigating the death of a teenager who was found critically injured in a roadway early Saturday morning.

Deputies responded about 4:19am to a report of a man lying on Sand Ridge Road in south Placerville. When they arrived, they found a 17-year-old boy lying in the roadway in critical condition, according to a sheriff’s department news release. Emergency medical personnel transported the youth to Marshall Hospital in Placerville where he died of his injuries.

Sheriff’s officials said the young man has been identified and his family has been notified of his death, but his name is being withheld pending further investigation.

They said the teenager reportedly left the area of Gopher Hole Road in Somerset on foot early Saturday morning. Detectives were told that he was walking toward a friend’s house on Sand Ridge Road before he was discovered in the roadway. Sheriff’s officials said his injuries were consistent with being struck by a vehicle, but the cause of death has not been determined.

Anyone with information pertaining to the case is asked to call Detective Jon Densmore at (530) 642.4718.