UTV Driver Flees Crash, Leaves Passenger To Die In Desert: CHP

SALTON SEA, CA — The California Highway Patrol is looking for a utility task vehicle driver who crashed over the weekend and left a passenger to die.

The crash was reported just before 7 p.m. Saturday on Gas Line Road west of Summit Road. The off-road trails near the Salton Sea are popular with UTV and ATV riders.

According to a preliminary CHP report, a Polaris RZR UTV was heading west on Gas Line Road and crashed into a chainlink fence. The driver fled, and a 46-year-old passenger from Thermal died a short time later.

Further details about the victim were not disclosed, and the CHP said it is looking for the driver, whose identity is unknown.

The CHP is still investigating whether alcohol and/or drugs were a factor in the crash.

Anyone with information regarding the incident is asked to contact Officer C. DeLeon, ID 24113, at the CHP Indio Area office at 760-772-5300.