Vehicle Launched Over Street Before Catching Fire, Killing Driver

WILDOMAR, CA — The California Highway Patrol Sunday continued to investigate a fiery crash in Wildomar that killed a 24-year-old man.

The crash took place at 2:45 a.m. Saturday at the Olive Street underpass to Interstate 15, according to the Riverside County Fire Department.

The CHP said the driver of a 2021 Kia Soul was traveling on the southbound side of the freeway when he drifted left for unknown reasons into the dirt median as he approached the Olive Street underpass, which was about 50 feet below the median.

Because the vehicle was traveling at a high speed, it launched over Olive Street and landed on a dirt embankment on the south side of the underpass, causing the vehicle to overturn and catch fire, according to the CHP.

The vehicle became tangled in a chain link fence above the bridge, and firefighters initially had trouble securing the vehicle to extricate the driver, the department reported.

Once freed from the wreckage, the driver was taken to Inland Valley Medical Center with major injuries, where he later died, according to the Riverside County coroner's office.

The driver was identified as Rene Leduff Jr. of Murrieta.

—City News Service