Predawn Crash Kills Motorist Near Beaumont

BEAUMONT -A predawn crash today that killed a motorist and severely his passenger on state Route 79 near Beaumont was blamed on unsafe speed, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The crash, north of County Landill Road, occurred about 3 a.m., according to CHP Officer Scott Beauchene.

The driver was speeding south on the highway when he lost control of his 2004 Chevrolet Malibu, which vaulted off the road and into a mountainside, trapping both occupants, according to Cal Fire’s Cheri Patterson.

Raymond Trejo, 23, of Hemet, was taken to a trauma center in Riverside, Beauchene said.

The driver, whose name was not immediately released, was pronounceddead at the scene.