Man Identified in Deadly Lake Elsinore Crash Off SR-74

LAKE ELSINORE, CA – One man died and two other people were hurt in a weekend crash off Highway 74 in Lake Elsinore, sheriff's and fire officials report.

According to April Newman of the Riverside County Fire Department, the two-car wreck was reported at 12:13 p.m. Sunday at the intersection of Highway 74 and Allan Street.

When firefighters and sheriff's deputies got to the scene, one person was trapped in a vehicle, and two others were hurt. All three people were taken to the hospital by ambulance and the driver of one of the vehicles was pronounced dead there, according to the sheriff's department.

That driver has since been identified by coroner's officials as 30-year-old Samuel Mendez, Jr. He was a resident of Perris.

"Deputies arrived and located a two vehicle traffic collision with debris completely blocking the number 1 and 2 eastbound lanes of Hwy 74," sheriff's J. Casanas said of the collision. "The Lake Elsinore Police Traffic Team responded to the collision and is actively investigating the collision."

The injuries of the other two people were described as moderate.

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