Crime & Safety
Coroner IDs Woman Killed In Fatal Interstate 215 Crash
The 56-year-old victim was in the front passenger seat of a Jeep being driven by a 17-year-old boy who lost control of the vehicle.
MEAD VALLEY, CA — A 56-year-old woman was killed on Interstate 215 when the SUV she was riding in veered off the freeway and rolled several times, the California Highway Patrol said Monday.
Sabrina Mejia of Riverside was fatally injured just after 4 p.m. Saturday on northbound I-215 at Placentia Avenue in Mead Valley, according to the CHP.
Officer Javier Navarro said Monday that Mejia was in the right front passenger seat of the Jeep Wrangler, which was being driven by a 17-year-old boy, whose identity was not disclosed.
According to Navarro, the Jeep was traveling at an unconfirmed speed when the teenager apparently lost control, causing the SUV to leave the freeway and skid onto the dirt shoulder.
"The Jeep continued on the dirt shoulder, where it ... overturned multiple times," the CHP spokesman said. "The Jeep landed on its wheels and sustained major damage."
Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department crews reached the location within a few minutes and pronounced Mejia dead at the scene.
The driver suffered moderate injuries and was taken to Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley for treatment. He was recovering Monday.
Navarro said alcohol or drugs did not factor into the crash, which remained under investigation.
