Eutiquio Ramirez, 48, of Indio, a well-regarded and longtime employee of Griner Construction in Idyllwild, died in a single-vehicle crash reported at 5:42 p.m. Friday, April 8.
According to the California Highway Patrol report, Ramirez was driving his white Toyota T100 pickup truck east on Highway 74, when for unknown reasons he veered to the right and his vehicle left the roadway and went over the side about 50 to 100 feet down into a ravine. The incident occurred three-tenths of a mile east of Big Horn Road on a cloudy day with a clear roadway.
Ramirez was pronounced dead at the crash scene at 6:27 p.m. There were no passengers in the truck and no other vehicles were involved.
Separately reported in this edition, the badly decomposed body of a female was discovered on Sunday, April 10, on Highway 74. The incident is being investigated to determine cause of death.
At 12:20 p.m. Thursday, April 7, Britta Hollowell, 66, of Pine Cove, was driving her 2011 Kia Sorrento west on Highway 74 when she allowed the vehicle to drift toward the right, causing the vehicle to hit the shoulder and slide over an embankment. The crash occurred eight-tenths of a mile east of Strawberry Creek bridge. Hollowell complained of pain and was transported by American Medical Response to Hemet Valley Medical Center. There were no passengers with Hollowell and no other vehicles were involved.
At 11:30 p.m. Thursday, April 7, Lee Putnam, 67, of Idyllwild, was driving his 2010 Jeep Cherokee east on Highway 74, three-tenths of a mile west of Southfork Trail, when he said he dozed off, veered to the right and crashed into a tree. Putnam complained of back and neck pain and was transported by AMR to Riverside County Regional Medical Center. There were no passengers with Putnam and no other vehicles were involved in the incident.
At 5 a.m. Friday, April 8, Isaac Kepner, 23, of Idyllwild, was driving his white 2002 Acura RSX east on Highway 74, half of a mile west of Strawberry Creek Bridge, when he made an unsafe turning movement causing his vehicle to go off the right side of the road and down an embankment. Although injured, Kepner refused transport. No passengers were with Kepner and no other vehicles were involved.
