REDLANDS: Moreno Valley resident killed in solo-vehicle wreck

REDLANDS – A driver was killed in a solo-vehicle traffic accident that sent a car soaring through the air before it smashed midair into an Edison power pole Monday, May 7. The vehicle was traveling westbound on San Timoteo Canyon Road, east of Entranz Boulevard, in an unincorporated area of Redlands.

The area where the early-morning accident happened, which is northeast of Moreno Valley and is a popular shortcut to the nearby I-10 Freeway, has been the site of several other recent major and fatal traffic accidents.

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Motorists who travel through the area and residents of nearby Fisherman’s Retreat have long complained about unsafe speeds and driving actions of motorists along the same stretch of road.

Coroner’s officials later identified the victim as Larry Splawn Jr., 34, of Moreno Valley. According to officials, Splawn died at the scene of the accident and he was pronounced dead at 1:15 a.m.

California Highway Patrol officers and other emergency first responders were dispatched to the scene of the fatal accident about 12:49 a.m., after several witnesses and passing motorists called 911 to report the accident.

When they arrived, officials found the mangled wreckage of Splawn’s sedan. Firefighter/paramedics quickly determined the driver and sole-occupant of the car sustained major traumatic injuries in the wreck. In spite of life-saving efforts, Splawn succumbed to his injuries and he was pronounced dead at the scene.

During a subsequent investigation, CHP officials determined Splawn was driving a blue, 2003 Acura 2 TL X westbound on San Timoteo Canyon Road “at an unknown speed” when “the driver made an unsafe turning movement to the right and the Acura entered the dirt shoulder,” CHP Public Information Officer Darren Meyer explained in a written press release.

“The Acura continued to travel in a north-westerly direction where it collided into a dirt embankment, causing it to become airborne,” Meyer explained. “The Acura impacted an Edison power pole before coming to rest on its wheels, facing in an easterly direction.”

Southern California Edison employees were summoned to the scene to assess damage to the power pole.

Alcohol and/or drugs have not been ruled out as a contributing factor(s) in the collision, said Meyer, who explained CHP is still investigating the cause of the accident.

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Trevor Montgomery runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News and Anza Valley Outlook and also writes for Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg and breaking his back in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.