Driver identified in fatal Pine Cove crash

A motorist who was killed when his pickup truck plowed into a tree along state Route 243 in Pine Cove was identified today as an 81-year-old resident of the community.

Charles Clayton was fatally injured about 12:10 p.m. Tuesday following the crash on southbound 243, near Foster Lake Road, just north of Idyllwild.

California Highway Patrol Officer Darren Meyer said Clayton was at the wheel of a Chevrolet Silverado that drifted off the road and onto the shoulder of the mountain highway, impacting a large pine tree.

Riverside County Fire Department paramedics reached the location within 10 minutes and found Clayton unconscious, severely injured and pinned inside the pickup.

Firefighters pried him out of the vehicle and attempted life-saving treatment, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

Meyer said the victim was not wearing a seatbelt.

Officers shut down both sides of the highway at 12:40 p.m. for a preliminary investigation and to remove the wreckage. The closure was lifted within a couple of hours.

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