Marine Killed When Car Hydroplanes on Wet Coast Highway, Hits Palm Tree

A 25-year-old Marine based at  Camp Pendleton was killed early Saturday when the car he was a passenger in struck a palm tree after hydroplaning on the old Coast Highway in Oceanside, authorities said Sunday.

The Marine, whose name was not immediately released, was in the front seat of a 2005 Ford Mustang, according to the county Medical Examiner’s Office.

It had been headed north on Coast Highway at Michigan Avenue about 12:50 a.m. Saturday, said the coroners office.

The driver lost control on the wet pavement and the car hit the palm tree, which then fell on the vehicle, the office reported.

Oceanside police and fire personnel responded and extricated both the driver and the passenger who were then taken to a hospital.

The passenger was pronounced dead at 2:55 a.m. Saturday at a La Jolla hospital, the office reported.