Authorities Identify Man Who Died After Highway Crash

(CNS) – Authorities Wednesday identified a 29-year-old man who died at Desert Regional Medical Center after being ejected from his vehicle in Landers. At about 5 p.m. Tuesday, a Landers resident was driving northbound in a 2006 Nissan Frontier on State Route 247, according to Officer Michael Radford of the California Highway Patrol. The victim was behind another vehicle before illegally passing it within the southbound lane of SR-247, Radford said. Once he passed the vehicle he steered right, went across the northbound lane and into the open desert near Valli Hi Drive. The Nissan overturned and struck a fire hydrant, Radford said. The driver, identified as Nathan Salazar, was not wearing a seatbelt during the crash and was ejected from the Nissan. Salazar was taken by ambulance to the Hi Desert Medical Center and then by helicopter to the Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs where he was pronounced dead, according to Radford. "Alcohol and/or drugs did appear to have been a factor," Radford said. The crash was under investigation. Copyright 2022, City News Service, Inc.