UPDATE: Corrections Officer Killed in Accident Near Warner Springs ID'd

Updated at 6:22 p.m. March 25:

A Riverside County-based state corrections officer and his service dog were killed today while on duty in a solo car crash on State Route 79, east of Lake Henshaw, in San Diego County.

Gilbert Cortez, 46, of Corona was driving at the front of a small caravan of southbound prison vehicles when he lost control of the marked Ford Crown Victoria about a half-mile south of San Felipe Road in the Warner Springs area southeast of Temecula shortly before 7:30 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.

The sedan skidded out, overturned and rolled over side to side, coming to rest on its wheels, the CHP reported.

Cal Fire Warner Springs was first to respond on scene. Medics took Cortez to a nearby fire station, where he died before he could be put into an emergency-services helicopter for a flight to a trauma center.

The dog, a Belgian Malinois named Mattie, succumbed to her injuries at the scene of the crash.

There were no other occupants of the sedan, the CHP reported. The cause of the accident was under investigation.

The wreck occurred as corrections personnel in five vehicles were en route to inspect La Cima Fire Camp, an inmate-staffed back-country firefighting outpost in the Julian area, said Jeffrey Callison, spokesman for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Authorities closed the two-lane rural road in the area until mid- afternoon to allow for investigations and cleanup.

Cortez, a 23-year veteran of the state corrections agency, worked at California Rehabilitation Center in Riverside County and was part of its Southern Regional K-9 Unit. He is survived by his wife and two children.

“All of us at CDCR mourn the tragic death of Officer Gilbert Cortez,” said CDCR Secretary Jeff Beard. “He was a valued member of our department and his untimely passing, in the line of duty, is a huge loss to all who worked with him. Our thoughts and prayers are with Gil’s family, friends and colleagues. We are also deeply saddened by the death of Gil’s K-9 partner, Mattie.”

Mattie had been donated by a private citizen in the San Diego area, according Callison.

"She started service with Officer Cortez in August 2011 and was certified to search for contraband and narcotics," Callison stated in a news release. "CDCR’s K-9 program uses dogs and skilled handlers to detect cell phones and drugs in prisons."

Cortez started his career at CDCR in 1990 at the California Institution for Men. The next year, he transferred to Calipatria State Prison where he was assigned to the Investigative Services Unit and promoted to the rank of Sergeant. In 2001, Cortez was transferred to CRC where he subsequently completed K-9 training.

A correctional peace officer who said he's worked with the fallen officer for the past few years and requested his name be withheld, said he was "a great asset to our agency and will be missed by many."

—City News Service and Patch staff contributed to this report