A 21-mile stretch of Highway 74 was shut down Wednesday for a Riverside County sheriff’s investigation near the town of Pinyon Crest.
The California Highway Patrol reported a vehicle plunged about 200 feet off the side of the road while traveling on Highway 74 near Bighorn Drive at 8:57 a.m., and also reported at least one person was dead at the scene, although no other details were provided.
The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department sent a tweet at 9:30 a.m. asking residents to keep away from mile marker 86 due to “police activity,” adding that there was “no suspect outstanding.”
“This is an active and ongoing investigation,” the department later tweeted at 10:16 a.m., “there’s no current threat to the public.”
Sheriff’s officials would not confirm that they were investigating a death, nor did they provide additional details.
Highway 74 was closed as of 11:45 a.m. in both directions from Highway 371 to the Palm Desert city limits, the CHP reported. No reopening time was disclosed.