Speed, Wet Roads A Factor In Highway 74 Fatal Rollover Crash: CHP

WINCHESTER, CA — An 18-year-old motorist killed in a rollover crash on Highway 74 west of Hemet was identified Tuesday as Hector Gonzalez of Winchester. His name was released following notification of the next of kin.

Shortly after 6 a.m. Sunday on the westbound 74, Gonzalez apparently lost control of his car while speeding on the rain-slick roadway, the California Highway Patrol said Tuesday. The crash occurred just west of Four Seasons Boulevard, in a community known as Green Acres, according to CHP Officer Kyle Darst.

"Gonzalez was at the wheel of a 2004 Lexus, traveling at a high rate of speed during rain showers when he lost control ... as he negotiated a curve in the roadway," Darst wrote.

The sedan overturned and struck the raised curb on the north edge of the highway, then rolled off the corridor, where the "passenger side of the Lexus crashed into a tree," Darst reported. "The force of the impact caused the vehicle to split in half."

Darst said the victim was not wearing a seatbelt and suffered grave injuries.

The young man was airlifted to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, where he succumbed to his injuries and died one hour later.

An autopsy was pending, and it was not immediately known whether alcohol or drugs factored into the crash.