Man Seriously Hurt When Car Plunges 200 Feet Over the Side of Ortega Highway

A dangerous stretch of Ortega Highway known as Ricochet Alley claimed another victim Friday when a Murietta man was seriously injured after his car swerved out of control on wet pavement and careened 200 feet down an embankment.

Paul Meyer, 56, was listed in serious but guarded condition in intensive care at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center, where he was airlifted by Marine helicopter from the canyon below the highway. He suffered a punctured lung and a concussion, among other injuries, said hospital spokeswoman Jan Walker.

The accident was one of two Friday morning on Ortega Highway, where a light rain made the two lanes more dangerous than usual. Dorothy Sue Davis, 47, of Lake Elsinore escaped injury when she lost control of her car at about 5:50 a.m. and veered off the road about 17 miles east of Interstate 5.

The accident that injured the Murietta man happened on what paramedics call Ricochet Alley, a narrow, curvy section of the highway about 14 miles from Interstate 5 and just east of San Juan Hot Springs. About 200 feet below the road, a rugged canyon is littered with 37 abandoned wrecks--testimony to the danger of the road above.

California Highway Patrol Officer Steve Haro said it appeared that Meyer was exceeding the 45-m.p.h. speed limit.

While “The Alley” is considered by some to be the most treacherous stretch, the entire 32-mile roadway, formally known as California 74, has four times the state average for fatalities on a two-lane highway, according to the CHP. Just last week, three San Juan Capistrano men were killed on the highway when the truck in which they were riding struck a steep embankment.

“We’ve gotten to just calling it ‘The Alley’ we’re called up there so often,” said Capt. Dan Young of the Orange County Fire Department. “This is not any place to exceed the speed limit.”

Ortega Highway was even more hazardous than usual Friday because of a light overnight rain that left South County roads slippery in the morning rush hour.

Young said it took paramedics nearly an hour to cut Meyer out of his vehicle, a 1985 Honda CRX. Meyer, who was wearing a seat belt, was trapped upside-down in the car among a grove of sycamore trees.

Young credited Jerry Brookshire of Laguna Hills, a motorist who came to Meyer’s aid, with possibly saving Meyer’s life.

“He put a blanket around the victim and kept him warm, which is just what you should do in a situation like this,” Young said. “Any time the body does not have to keep itself warm, it can expend that energy surviving the incident.”

Brookshire, 33, a fifth-grade teacher at Wildomar Elementary School in Lake Elsinore who commutes along Ortega Highway daily, was driving east at about 7 a.m. when he saw the westbound Meyer swerve. He then watched in his rear-view mirror as Meyer became airborne and bounced down the hillside.

After flagging down another motorist to get help, Brookshire grabbed a first-aid kit from his car and managed to hike down the hillside in search of Meyer.

“I’ve been driving this thing for three years, and I’ve seen many accidents, but never anything like this,” Brookshire said. “It’s a treacherous road, and it’s not forgiving. He had only two choices: either hit the wall or go over. Unfortunately, he spun the wrong way.”

When Brookshire first reached the canyon floor, he was confused by the presence of so many wrecked vehicles.

“I went to the wrong car at first, but then he called to me, ‘I’m over here!’ ” said Brookshire, a former Army medic. “He was conscious and breathing, but I knew he was in bad shape.”

Fire Department Battalion Chief Ron Blaul, who treated Meyer at the scene, said his life was in danger, possibly because of the damage to his lung.

“We were racing against time on this one,” Blaul said. “His vital signs were going down quickly.”