Car Plunges Into Ravine, Killing Orange County Driver

LA HABRA, CA — An Orange County resident was killed Wednesday when his car plummeted down a 200-foot embankment on a curvy rural road, officials said on Thursday.

The 67-year-old man, a resident of La Habra whose name has not yet been released, died after being thrown from his car in an unincorporated San Diego County, California Highway Patrol Officer Kevin Pearlstein said.

The fatal crash happened about 8:20 p.m. Wednesday on Montezuma Valley Road near mile marker 13.5 when his vehicle careened off the road and down the embankment.

"The man was driving northbound on the two-way road in a 1997 Toyota Camry when, for unknown reasons, he drifted off the right shoulder," Pearlstein said. "The car plunged down the embankment and the driver was thrown from the car. He died at the scene."

The driver was the Camry’s only occupant and no other vehicles were involved in the crash, Pearlstein said.

Investigators were probing the incident and did not immediately know if drugs or alcohol were factors.

This report will be updated as more information is released.

Orange county fire authority stock photo