Driver dies after car rolls down Ortega Highway embankment in Lake Elsinore
A driver died after their car rolled down a steep embankment on the 74 Highway in Lake Elsinore on Wednesday afternoon.
It happened at around 1:30 p.m. on westbound lanes of the road, commonly called the Ortega Highway, near Main Divide Truck Trail, according to California Highway Patrol officers investigating the crash.
The victim, who has since been identified as 23-year-old Menifee resident Isaac Barboza, was driving a Honda Civic that veered off the highway for unknown reasons and rolled down the steep hillside, CHP officers said. They said that the car rolled over an unknown number of times before finally coming to a rest at the bottom of the embankment.
Police said that other drivers who witnessed the incident stopped to call 911.
Within half an hour, Riverside County Fire Department paramedics were able to reach the location, where they pronounced the driver dead upon arrival. As of 4 p.m., CHP officers and Riverside County Sheriff's Office deputies were still working to coordinate an airlift operation to remove the victim from the wreckage.
Officers closed both sides of the highway until a little after 3:20 p.m. as they began their investigation into what caused the crash.