Hit-And-Run Driver Sought In Deadly Crash Near Temecula

TEMECULA VALLEY, CA — A traffic crash east of Temecula turned deadly Friday morning and the man responsible for causing it is at-large, the California Highway Patrol reports. A 63-year-old woman was killed in the wreck caused by the hit-and-run driver who slammed into her car after impacting another vehicle and losing control at high speed.

The agency says the crash happened around 6:15 a.m. along SR-371 at Wilson Valley Road. The Riverside County Coroner's Office was called to the scene at 6:55 a.m.

Officer Mike Lassig said the victim, identified as an Aguanga resident, was driving her 2001 Mercedes Benz southbound on the highway when the suspect, whose identity and whereabouts remain unknown, approached from the opposite direction.

The man was at the wheel of a 2011 Nissan Versa, going at "a high rate of speed," Lassig said.
He said the suspect's four-door sedan struck the rear of a 1986 Toyota pickup ahead of him and spun out of control, veering into oncoming traffic.

"The (suspect's) vehicle collided into the Mercedes ... which caused it to travel into the northbound lane before rolling over onto the shoulder east of the roadway edge," Lassig said.

He said the Nissan then overturned on the westbound shoulder of the highway, but the suspect managed to extricate himself from the smashed car and ran southbound. He is asking for the public's help finding the man as someone may have spotted him.

"[The suspect] fled the scene on foot and is described as a white male, 25-30 years of age, last seen wearing a black beanie type head cover, and a dark colored hoodie type sweatshirt," Lassig said in a news release. "The California Highway Patrol (CHP) is suspecting that [he] walked in a southerly direction from the collision scene towards SR-79. [He] could have visible injures from the collision."

Riverside County Fire Department paramedics arrived a few minutes later and pronounced the Mercedes driver dead at the scene.

As a result of the crash, SR-371 was closed in both directions for about eight hours.