Fiery I-15 Crash Victim ID'd By Coroner

RIVERSIDE COUNTY, CA — A man who died after crashing off Interstate 15 near Lake Elsinore has been identified by the Riverside County coroner's office. He was 23-year-old Saul Flores of Corona.

According to CHP Officer Dan Olivas, the crash happened Saturday around 9:09 p.m. on the southbound side of I-15, north of Horsethief Canyon Road, when Flores allowed his 2016 Jeep to drift to the right dirt shoulder.

"The vehicle traveled up the embankment where it collided with a perimeter fence," Olivas said in a news release Monday.

From there, the SUV continued to travel across De Palma Road, off the roadway and down an embankment, the officer said. It eventually landed on its wheels — and a fire began shortly thereafter.

"The vehicle began to catch fire and witnesses stopped and pulled the male from the vehicle before it became fully engulfed in flames," Olivas said. "The witnesses initiated CPR on the driver until emergency personnel arrived and took over."

Despite the efforts of the Good Samaritans, Flores died within about 30 minutes of the wreck, according to coroner's reports.

— Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone