A 16-year-old motorist was killed and his three passengers injured when he slammed into a telephone pole at high speed near downtown Temecula, authorities said Friday.
Landen Ried of Temecula was fatally injured shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday on Margarita Road, between Jedidiah Smith and Pio Pico roads, according to the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department.
Sgt. William Pratt said that Landen was going southbound on Margarita “at a high rate of speed (and) lost control for unknown reasons, colliding with the telephone pole.”
Patrol deputies were first to reach the location and found the teenager gravely injured. They attempted resuscitative measures, but the youth was pronounced dead at the scene minutes later by paramedics, according to Pratt.
He said that three other people in the vehicle, whose identities were not disclosed, suffered unspecified injuries and were taken to a regional trauma center for treatment. They were all in stable condition Friday.
The circumstances behind the crash remain under investigation. Anyone with information was asked to contact the sheriff’s Southwest Station at 951-696-3000.