Murrieta Man Thrown From Sunroof Onto I-15 In Deadly Crash: CHP

TEMECULA, CA — A Murrieta man died in a rollover crash in Temecula this week after getting thrown out of his car and onto the highway, officials said Tuesday. The deadly crash was reported Monday evening on Interstate 15.

It all started around 6:15 p.m. during bumper-to-bumper traffic on the I-15, according to CHP Officer Mike Lassig. A man — who has since been identified by the coroner's office as 28-year-old Richard Sanchez of Murrieta — was headed north on the freeway "at a high rate of speed" in a 2008 Volkswagen Rabbit.

"[The VW] was observed traveling in and out of the center divider to pass stop-and-go commute traffic," Lassig said.

Meanwhile, as Sanchez drove in the leftmost lane near Santiago Road, he approached a 44-year-old man at the wheel of a 2001 Nissan Frontier pickup truck, according to Lassig. That driver came to a stop as traffic ahead of him slowed to a crawl.

Sanchez apparently tried to pass the Nissan, but collided with it instead, sideswiping the left side of the truck with the right side of his VW.

"After the collision, [the VW] traveled out of control and began to roll over in the center median," Lassig said. [Sanchez] was not wearing his seatbelt and was ejected out of [the car's] sunroof."

"[The driver's] body and [car] came to rest in the center divider of northbound I-15," the officer said.

Sanchez was taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, where he died early Tuesday morning, according to the coroner's office.

The California Highway Patrol's Temecula Area office is investigating the wreck.

— Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone