‘Next thing I knew, we were going down.’ : Man Dies as Pickup Plunges Down a Mountain Ravine : Crash: Truck’s driver is arrested at hospital on suspicion of drunk driving.

A Mission Viejo man was arrested on suspicion of drunk driving after his pickup truck plunged off a remote mountain road into a steep ravine, killing a passenger and injuring himself and two others, authorities said Tuesday.

It took survivors more than an hour to climb 200 feet out of the ravine in the dark and call help. The crash occurred about 10 p.m. Monday off Main Divide Road, a dirt route four miles north of Ortega Highway in Cleveland National Forest, said Officer Bruce Lian, a spokesman for the California Highway Patrol.

Rescuers found the body of William Johnson, 20, of Mission Viejo at the bottom of the ravine. He was apparently killed when the truck rolled over him after he was ejected from the cab, authorities said.

The driver, James Raymond Hicks, 19, was arrested at a Riverside County hospital on suspicion of drunk driving. The CHP is considering whether to seek manslaughter charges against him, Lian said.

In an interview at his home Tuesday afternoon, Hicks said he was sober and not driving recklessly when the accident occurred.

“The moon was out, so there was some light,” he said, leaning on a pair of crutches to support a strained knee, his forehead swollen from more than 300 stitches sewn above his eye. “We went out to take in the scenery. What happened is that I took a left turn and raised a cloud of dust. Next thing I knew, we were going down.”

Hicks; his wife, Michele Diane Hicks, 19, and a third passenger, Scott Ayers, 19, of Mission Viejo, were treated for cuts and bruises and released Tuesday morning from Inland Valley Regional Medical Center in Wildomar, hospital officials said.

Hicks was driving on a license that had been revoked last year, according to Department of Motor Vehicle records. Since 1989, Hicks has been cited nine times for speeding, six times for not wearing a seat belt while driving, twice for possession of alcohol by a person under 21, four times for driving without a valid license and once for not having proof of insurance, DMV records show.

According to CHP officers, the four were not wearing seat belts as they sat together in the cab of the truck. They had been cruising east on Main Divide Road when James Hicks decided to do “doughnuts” on a gravel area near a campground, CHP officers said. During one of the 360-degree turns, the truck skidded off a low dirt embankment and plunged to the bottom of the ravine.

Investigators found at least one beer can near the crushed truck early Tuesday morning, Lian said. By midday, the truck’s tire tracks were still visible in circles on the gravel area. Damaged trees and brush traced the vehicle’s path as it rolled down the ravine.

After the three survivors climbed out of the ravine, Michele Hicks realized that she was the only one stable enough to go for help, she said.

Vickie Gavish and Ron Young, who live in a trailer about two miles from the crash site, said they heard cries for help about 11:30 p.m.

The couple said they looked outside and saw a blood-covered Michele Hicks crawling toward them. They do not have a phone, so Young drove her two miles to a pay phone to call 911.

William and Carol Johnson, the victim’s parents, said they knew about James Hicks’ driving record but added that their son also had his license taken away at one time. The Johnsons said they were fighting off the urge to blame James Hicks for the death of their son.

“I don’t want to point any fingers,” Carol Johnson said. “What’s the point? What’s it going to change?”

The younger Johnson and the Hickses had been close friends since meeting six years ago. Johnson introduced James and Michele Hicks and lived with the couple in Phoenix for about a year until moving back recently. He was best man at the Hickses’ wedding in February.

“He was like family to us,” Michele Hicks said. “He was a kind, sweet and gentle man. I think God made a mistake by not making him a blood member of our family from the start.”

The Hickses moved back from Phoenix on Saturday, and the friends decided to get together to go off-roading, they said.

Chris Artale, a driver with Blair’s Towing, which was called to take the wreckage away, said it is not unusual for motorists to go for a scenic drive on Main Divide Road.

“It’s not a dangerous road when you know what you’re doing and are following the speed limits,” he said.

Capt. William Bourbeau of the U.S. Forest Service’s El Cariso fire station, said North Main Divide Road leads to two camping areas. He said he can remember just two other accidents on the road.

Times staff writer Bob Elston contributed to this report.