SOUTH COUNTY : Marine Dies in Crash Off Ortega Highway

A Camp Pendleton Marine was killed early Monday when a Ford Ranger pickup he was riding in tumbled off the edge of a treacherous section of Ortega Highway, closing the heavily traveled road for nearly eight hours.

The road was reopened at 9:45 a.m. Monday in the wake of a massive traffic backup, authorities said.

Lance Cpl. Raymond Chavez, 19, a New Mexico native who was stationed at Camp Pendleton, was killed. The California Highway Patrol said Chavez was pinned in the truck cab and crushed when the entire right side of the vehicle caved in on him.

It was not immediately known if Chavez was wearing a seat belt.

The driver of the truck, Lance Cpl. Jason E. Gilenson, 19, also a Camp Pendleton Marine, and another passenger, Amber Marie Wienke, 17, of Lake Elsinore, were injured in the accident, Officer Lori West said. Gilenson was thrown from the vehicle as it descended the ridge and escaped with moderate injuries. Wienke was hurt more seriously and flown to Western Medical Center-Santa Ana by helicopter, according to the report.

The three were returning from an evening at the Orange County Fair and driving east on the highway at about 1:15 a.m., about 16 miles east of Interstate 5, when Gilenson “hit a groove in the road,” ran off on the right shoulder and then lost control, West said. The truck went over the side and tumbled several times before landing on its roof, according to the report.

“Gilenson was banged up pretty good, but he was walking and talking,” said Officer Ken Daily of the California Highway Patrol. “He didn’t remember much besides the fact he hit a groove in the road. The next thing he knows he was crawling up the bank.”

Gilenson was listed in fair condition at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center in Mission Viejo on Monday afternoon. He suffered a head injury, cuts and bruises, a hospital spokesman said.

Wienke, who was also pinned in the truck, suffered serious internal injuries and was listed in stable but guarded condition Monday afternoon, according to a hospital spokesman.

The accident occurred near the Orange-Riverside County line along a section of road often called Ricochet Alley because of the numerous accidents that occur there. The dangerous section actually begins about 13 miles from Interstate 5, Daily said.

“That’s where the serious ones happen,” Daily said. “It’s the place where the cliffs are steep and deep.”