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California Highway Patrol officials today identified the four victims who died Friday evening in a fiery crash in Santee.
According to investigators, one of the victims was a 19-year veteran of the California Highway Patrol, along with three relatives.
CHP officials came out today and said that off-duty officer Mark Saylor, 45, was the likely driver of a loaned Lexus that hit a Ford Explorer around 6:35 p.m. at state Route 125 and Mission Gorge Road.
After colliding with the Explorer, the Lexus went on through the intersection, striking a concrete curb and running through a picket fence. The car then struck a dirt embankment which sent it airborne. The vehicle rolled several times before resting in a dry patch of the San Diego River basin where it burst into flames.
Authorities said the other victims in the car with Saylor were his wife, Cleofe, 45; daughter, Mahala, 13; and brother-in-law, Chris Lastrella, 38.
Since the victims were burned beyond recognition, final testing is still being done to reach a positive identity officially. The Medical Examiner's Office will reportedly not positively identify the bodies for several days, following an analysis of DNA and dental records.
According to investigators, the crash was reported approximately two minutes after a CHP dispatcher received a 911 call from one of the Lexus' passengers – likely Saylor's wife – to report that the car's accelerator was stuck and they could not bring the car, which may have been traveling around 100 miles per hour, to a stop.
Comments
The salesman should consider himself lucky that there was no room for him on this demo drive.
Never heard of a car you couldn't shift into neutral if the accelerator stuck. Bad car design if you can't disengage the transmission if there is a stuck accelerator.
This just seems impossible to me. I can't imagine that a CHP veteran could not stop a Camry with a stuck throttle, and there was even time for a 911 call.
When this happened to me with my 1990 Camry, I turned off the engine and used my hand brakes.
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