Driver Crashes Thru I-15 Fence, Temecula Woman Dies

*Editor's Note:  The original version of this story incorrectly identified the woman who died as the driver in the crash, when she was actually a passenger.

A Temecula woman died Sunday after a vehicle she was in plowed through a fence on northbound side of Interstate 15 in Lake Elsinore and careened into a field, the California Highway Patrol and coroner's office reported.

Dispatchers received a 911 call at 12:43 p.m. from witnesses who said the vehicle veered across all freeway lanes near north Main Street and took out a 50-foot section of chain-link fence. The vehicle wound up in the field east of Camino Del Norte, according to the CHP.

It was unclear if the woman died of injuries suffered in the accident or had a medical problem, as the CHP investigated the death.

According to the Riverside County Coroner's Office, the woman was a passenger in the SUV which rolled several times.  She was not wearing a seatbelt.

She was identified as 27-year-old Nidhi Burman by the coroner's office.

The 28-year-old driver of the Honda CRV was in the far left lane moving at 85 mph when he allowed the vehicle to cross all lanes to the right, where it collided with the rear of a 2006 Chrysler 300 driven by a 68-year-old woman, according to California Highway Patrol Officer D. Lee.

Lanes on both sides of the freeway were temporarily closed to accommodate the investigation, and traffic remained slow through the area Sunday afternoon.

— City News Service contributed to this report.