Last Updated on January 9, 2021 by CCAR Staff
LAKE ELSINORE — A 49-year-old man was killed when his car was rear-ended by a suspected drunken driver on Interstate 15 in Lake Elsinore, officials said Saturday.
The crash occurred at 11:10 p.m. Friday near the Railroad Canyon/Diamond Road exit, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The victim, who was driving southbound in a 2020 Nissan Versa, slowed down due to a traffic break ahead before being hit from behind by a 2015 GMC Sierra pick-up truck driven by a 55-year-old Temecula man, according to the CHP.
Investigators said the force of the impact caused the Nissan to slam into the center divider.
Its driver, Francisco Deluna of Perris, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Riverside County coroner’s office.
Meanwhile, the driver of the GMC drove away from the scene, crossing into the right shoulder in an attempt to flee, investigators said.
However, a CHP officer spotted the GMC with front-end damage and pulled the driver over near Railroad Canyon Road.
The pick-up truck’s driver, who was uninjured, was arrested on suspicion of felony DUI and felony hit-and-run. He was identified as Nick Clinton Lewis.
