Man Killed In Banning Crash ID'd As 75-Year-Old

BANNING, CA — A man killed in a rollover crash in Banning was identified by Riverside County authorities on Wednesday.

George Letts, 75, of Oro Valley, Arizona, was killed just after 6 a.m. on Thursday while he was in a vehicle traveling eastbound on Interstate 10 through Banning on Tuesday, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.

According to California Highway Patrol Officer Jonathan Torres, Letts was riding in the passenger's seat of a Subaru Outback when a woman driving the car lost control.

The Subaru veered off the road and onto the shoulder, overturning on an embankment near the Banning Municipal Airport, 2300 feet east of Hargrave Street at about 6:09 a.m., according to multiple agencies.

Torres told the City News Service that the vehicle rolled down the embankment, breaking a power pole in its path before coming to rest on its roof.

Riverside County fire officials arrived on the scene and pronounced Letts dead at 6:30 a.m.

Letts was extricated from the Subaru with major injuries, the CHP said. The passenger, a woman who was not publicly identified, was still hospitalized on Thursday.

Anyone with information about the investigation was urged to contact the CHP's San Gorgonio office at 951-846-5300.

City News Service contributed to this report.