Man not wearing lap belt ejected and killed during West Side crash

A 44-year-old Los Angeles man was killed early Monday in a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 5 north of Howard Road on Stanislaus County’s West Side.

The man, whose name has been withheld pending notification of family, was alone in his 1991 Honda, heading south on the interstate, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Shortly before 2 a.m., he drifted into the dirt median. He overcorrected while turning to the right, the CHP reported, and went across both southbound lanes, onto the dirt shoulder and up an embankment.

While going up the embankment, the Honda overturned multiple times and the driver was ejected, the CHP said. The car ended up in a fenced pasture.

The Honda was equipped with a passive restraint system, meaning the shoulder belt automatically slid into place. But the driver had not manually fastened his lap belt, according to the CHP news release on the crash.

“It is imperative to wear your seat belt as it is designed, utilizing both the lap and should restraint portions of your seat belt,” the release said.

Alcohol and drugs are not believed to be factors in the crash, the CHP reported.

This story was originally published May 30, 2017 at 11:25 AM with the headline "Man not wearing lap belt ejected and killed during West Side crash."