A motorist who died in a crash late Saturday night after having lost control of his car and then colliding into a dirt berm with a drainage ditch on Sierra Highway has been identified as Ernesto Martinez, 36, of Pacoima.
The man’s identity was revealed by investigators with the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Department Monday morning.
Coroner spokeswoman Kelly Yagerlener said an official cause and manner of Martinez’s death is still to be determined.
Martinez died in a crash that happened a couple of minutes before midnight Saturday, according to officers of the California Highway Patrol.
The CHP received a phone call from someone reporting a traffic collision on Sierra Highway between Sand Canyon Road and Vasquez Canyon Road late Saturday night, CHP Officer Omar Sanchez who is investigating the crash.
“It was determined to be a solo vehicle collision against a dirt berm with a drainage ditch,” Sanchez said in his report. “A 2004 Chevrolet Corvette driven by a solo male, was traveling southbound on Sierra Highway, south of Vasquez Canyon Road.
“The (driver) lost control, skidded sideways across the double yellow lines, across the northbound lane, and subsequently collided into the dirt berm located east of Sierra Highway,” with the car’s passenger side, the report states.
The driver suffered fatal injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics of the Los Angeles County Fire Department. This collision is still under investigation.
Alcohol and/or drugs are unknown to be a factor at this time.
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