A 43-year-old motorist was killed when he lost control of his van on Interstate 15 in Wildomar and struck an embankment, authorities said Friday.
Jay Vann of Lake Elsinore was fatally injured at 4:30 p.m. Thursday on southbound I-15 at Lemon Street, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officer Mike Lassig said that Vann was traveling over the speed limit in the No. 3 lane in his 2017 Dodge Caravan when he suddenly swerved left and clipped the rear of a 2023 Dodge Charger being driven by 31-year-old Lake Elsinore woman.
Lassig said the Caravan went past the Charger and “began swerving to the left” before making a sharp turn to the right, onto the dirt shoulder.
“The vehicle continued traveling southbound along the west shoulder … while speeds increased to approximately 85 mph,” the CHP spokesman said. “The Caravan sideswiped the metal guardrail several times. As it approached the Lemon Street under-crossing, the vehicle launched from the dirt embankment … and collided with the dirt embankment along the south edge of Lemon.”
The Caravan landed upright on its wheels, then slid rear-first down the embankment, coming to rest on the shoulder of Lemon, according to Lassig.
Riverside County Fire Department paramedics reached the location within a few minutes and pronounced Vann dead at the scene.
The woman in the Charger, whose identity wasn’t disclosed, was not hurt.
The crash remains under investigation, and anyone with information was asked to contact the CHP Temecula office at 951-466-4300.