Passenger Dies When Convertible Plunges Off Freeway Embankment
A motorist driving 100 m.p.h. on the San Diego Freeway lost control of his luxury car and plunged off an embankment, killing one of his passengers, the California Highway Patrol reported.
Police arrested the driver, Manuchehr Khoshbin, 24, of Irvine, on suspicion of felony drunken driving.
The crash happened about 1:45 a.m. on the southbound freeway near the Culver Drive off-ramp, according to a CHP dispatcher.
“He partly passed the off-ramp and he realized he needed to take the off-ramp,” the dispatcher said. “So he swerved back and lost control of the car.”
The car, a silver convertible Mercedes two-door with the top down, hit a curb, then dived over the embankment, hitting a tree.
Both passengers were thrown from the car, the dispatcher said. One of the passengers, Babak Behjaty, 31, of Irvine, was pronounced dead at the scene. The second suffered only minor injuries.
The driver was not hurt.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
