ANZA: One killed when vehicle plummets 350 feet off mountain road
ANZA — Details are still emerging after a person was killed when their vehicle plummeted about 350 feet over the side of a rural mountain road, Saturday, Nov. 25.
Although a four sentence incident report issued by Cal Fire listed conflicting streets that do not meet, the fatal solo-vehicle wreck was believed to have happened in the area of Forest Route off Bautista Canyon Road on Thomas Mountain in the unincorporated community of Anza.
California Highway Patrol officers and Cal Fire/Riverside County firefighters responded to the scene of the crash about 2:30 p.m. When officials arrived they found a vehicle hundreds of feet down a steep and rugged mountain embankment.
“The only occupant of the vehicle succumbed to fatal injuries at the scene,” Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire spokeswoman Jody Hagemann explained in an incident report.
The name of the victim has not been released, pending further investigation and notification of the person’s family.
CHP is investigating the cause of the fatal accident and their investigation is active and ongoing.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, who recently moved from Riverside County to Shasta County, runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook as well as 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, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries 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.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 27 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 14 grandchildren.
Is there a update on this
Hi Vanessa,
I plan on updating this story with additional information, multiple photos and videos of the victim’s body recovery via helicopter hoist and the extremely difficult recovery of the victim’s vehicle by a 5-ton military wrecker, later today or this evening after I catch a few ZZZZ’s.
So far the Coroner’s office has not released any information about the victim; however, I can say that DUI is suspected as a contributing factor in the fatal crash.
-TM