Coroner IDs Victim In Deadly Crash Off Ortega Highway

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A man who died after getting thrown from his vehicle while crashing off the Ortega Highway this week has been publicly identified by the coroner's office. According to Riverside County coroner's officials, he was just 28.

Nathaniel Page died at Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar at 9:42 p.m. Tuesday following the 7:05 p.m. wreck along a sweeping curve of the eastbound side of the highway, just west of El Cariso Village, according to CHP and coroner's reports. Page was a resident of Temecula.

California Highway patrol Officer Mike Lassig said Page lost control of his 2010 Toyota Corolla and skidded off of the two-lane road. Fire officials reported that it plunged down a 100-foot hillside.

"The victim was not wearing his seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle, resulting in major injuries," Lassig said.

Witnesses stopped and called 911, and Riverside County Fire Department personnel arrived minutes later, performing a "low angle rescue" to hoist the gravely injured motorist back to the roadway and place him in an ambulance, according to agency spokeswoman Tawny Cabral.

At this time, the crash is still under investigation.

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• 1 Dead In Ortega Highway Crash: CHP

— City News Service contributed to this report / Image via Shutterstock