LAKE COUNTY, Calif. — An Escondido man sustained major injuries in an early Sunday morning solo-vehicle crash on Highway 175 near Kelseyville.
Richard Riley, 52, was flown out of the county for treatment of his injuries following the wreck, which occurred at 12:20 a.m. Sunday, according to the California Highway Patrol’s Clear Lake Area office.
The CHP said Riley was driving eastbound on Highway 175 east of Diamond Dust Trail in a 2019 Land Rover Discovery.
For reasons the CHP said are still under investigation, Riley’s Land Rover went off the roadway and hit a parked vehicle.
The CHP said Riley’s vehicle continued out of control, hitting trees and brush in a creek bed.
The crash was first dispatched about 10 minutes after it occurred, with firefighters arriving at the scene several minutes later, according to CHP and radio reports.
The first units on the scene said the vehicle was 40 feet off the roadway and down a cliff, with the driver trapped and unconscious.
After firefighters extricated him, Riley was transported by ground ambulance to a landing zone at Riviera Elementary School, where a Cal Star air ambulance picked him up and transported him to a regional trauma center for treatment of major injuries, leaving just after 2 a.m., according to radio reports.
Riley was transported to Vacaville Kaiser Hospital, the CHP said.
The CHP said Riley was using his seat belt when the crash occurred.
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Driver seriously injured in early Sunday morning wreck
- Elizabeth Larson