PINE VALLEY, Calif. (CNS) - A big-rig driver and a passenger were killed in a fiery crash down an embankment off Interstate 8 in Pine Valley, authorities said Thursday.
The crash on eastbound I-8 near Buckman Springs Road happened shortly before 7:50 p.m. Wednesday, California Highway Patrol Officer Travis Garrow said.
An unidentified man behind the wheel of the big rig veered off the north side of the roadway, hit a bridge rail and the vehicle traveled down a dirt embankment, Garrow said. Upon impact, the big rig burst into flames with the driver trapped inside.
CHP, Border Patrol and Cal Fire personnel responded, but the driver was pronounced dead at the scene, the officer said.
On Thursday afternoon, CHP officials said investigators discovered a person’s body in the wreckage. The deceased person is believed to be a male.
Officials said, “Due to the severity of the crash and the type of vehicle involved, it took a lengthy amount of time and resources to locate the victim.”
The San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office will release the identities of the victims “once the families have been notified,” the CHP noted.
