Winchester man killed in possible DUI crash near Fallbrook

FALLBROOK - One person was killed on Interstate 15 near Fallbrook early Saturday, Nov. 17 in a single-vehicle crash that may have involved alcohol, authorities said.

California Highway Patrol officers were first alerted to the crash shortly after 5 a.m. when a truck driver reported seeing a damaged car with an injured person inside stop momentarily at the truck scales in Rainbow before continuing on northbound I-15, CHP Officer Mark Latulippe said.

Officers called hospitals in Temecula and Murrieta to check if there were any walk-in patients who could have been involved in the crash, and eventually were alerted that apparent victims had turned up at Rancho Springs Medical Center in Murrieta, according to a CHP incident log.

One passenger involved in the crash, identified as a 20-year-old man from Winchester, was pronounced dead at the hospital, Latulippe said. Another passenger, a 21-year-old Torrance man, sustained moderate injuries and the

driver, a 23-year-old man also from Torrance, was not injured.

The driver was arrested on suspicion of drunken driving, Latulippe said.

Officers were investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident and determined it occurred on northbound I-15 past state Route 76.

Evidence indicated the car struck a call box, lost control toward the center divider and may have returned to the right shoulder before continuing on the freeway, Latulippe said.

Officers asked anyone who may have witnessed the crash to call the CHP Border Communications Center at (858) 637-3800.