CHP Report Details Events That Led Up To Fatal Wildomar Crash

WILDOMAR, CA — Minutes before a Lake Elsinore motorist was killed Thursday afternoon on Lemon Street in Wildomar, he had just crashed on Interstate 15, drove at about 85 mph on the freeway's dirt shoulder, and then launched off an embankment before getting trapped in his wrecked minivan, according to a preliminary report released Friday by the California Highway Patrol.

Around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Jay Vann, 43, was heading southbound on the freeway in a 2017 Dodge Caravan. He was in the #3 lane, driving at a speed greater than 65 mph, the CHP report stated.

For reasons that are unclear, Vann drifted into the #2 lane and crashed into the rear of a 2023 Dodge Charger. Vann's vehicle passed the Charger, began swerving, and finally went off the freeway onto the right dirt shoulder, according to the CHP report.

Vann kept heading south on the shoulder, to the right of the freeway guardrail, where his speed got up to approximately 85 miles per hour. He sideswiped the guardrail several times, the report said.

When he approached Lemon Street, his vehicle launched from a dirt embankment and smashed into another embankment on the other side of the road.

The Caravan landed on its wheels and rolled backward down the embankment, before stopping on the south dirt shoulder of Lemon Street.

Vann was trapped inside his vehicle and was later pronounced dead at the scene by first responders. The coroner reported the location as Lemon Street, about 290 feet east of Almond Street.

The 31-year-old Lake Elsinore woman driving the Charger escaped injury, according to the CHP report.

The cause of the apparent erratic driving and fatal crash remain under investigation by the CHP Temecula Area office, the agency said. Witnesses are urged to contact the office at 951-466-4300.