A 28-year-old San Jacinto man was fatally injured in a head-on collision that was triggered when he drifted into opposing traffic lanes on state Route 79, authorities said Monday.
The crash happened about 9:30 p.m. Sunday on the northbound side of the highway, near the Ramona Expressway, on the north end of San Jacinto, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officer Darren Meyer said the driver, whose identity was not disclosed, was at the wheel of a Ford Focus going south on the 79 when he veered across the double yellow lines and entered northbound traffic.
About that time, a 50-year-old Hemet man in a BMW 328 approached the location, heading north, Meyer said.
He said the Focus side-swiped the driver’s side of the BMW, then spun into a Toyota Corolla trailing the larger sedan. The Ford slammed head-on into the Toyota.
According to Meyer, the Focus driver was killed on impact, and the 39-year-old Pasadena man driving the Corolla was seriously injured and taken to Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley for treatment.
The BMW driver was not hurt.
Meyer said the collision remains under investigation, and alcohol or drugs have not been ruled out as possible factors.