Authorities ID Driver Fatally Injured When Sedan Plunges Down Hillside

SAN JACINTO (CNS) – A motorist killed when his vehicle plunged down a hillside along Highway 79 north of San Jacinto was identified Tuesday as a 46- year-old Riverside man.

Stephen Rochelle was fatally injured at about 8:30 a.m. Monday on southbound Highway 79, near County Landfill Dump Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The agency said Rochelle was at the wheel of a 2011 Hyundai Elantra when he apparently lost control, causing his sedan to veer off the highway and roll down a 100-foot embankment.

Riverside County Fire Department crews reached the location a short time later and pronounced the victim dead at the scene.

No other vehicles were involved.

Anyone with information about the accident was asked to contact the CHP’s San Gorgonio Office at 951-769-2000.

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