The 25-year-old man was discovered with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the CHP.
LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A law enforcement investigation Monday morning on the Ortega Highway, just west of Lake Elsinore, turned up a tragic discovery.
A 25-year-old man, Eric Breniz of Jurupa Valley, was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Just after 6:33 a.m., the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department and the California Highway Patrol were summoned to an area along the winding highway, about 1.5 miles west of Grand Avenue. Callers reported concern about a man with a gun, according to CHP Officer Mike Lassig.
Sheriff’s deputies were the first to arrive on scene and they found the man, later identified as Breniz, dead inside a black Dodge Charger parked along the highway shoulder.
“It appears to be an apparent suicide,” Lassig said.
No other injuries were reported. Ortega Highway traffic was delayed Monday morning due to the investigation.
It has been a difficult week in Southwest Riverside County. Around 1:50 p.m. Saturday, 53-year-old Dawn Redman of Murrieta jumped off the McCall Boulevard overcrossing onto southbound Interstate 15 in Menifee. She died at the scene.
The CHP is continuing to investigate the incidents and hopes to obtain more information about what led to the tragedies. Anyone with information is asked to contact the CHP Temecula Area office at 951-466-4300.
If you are struggling, or know someone who is, contact the National Suicide Prevention & Mental Health Crisis Lifeline by dialing 988. The hotline provides confidential emotional support to people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress 24 hours a day, seven days a week, across the United States.
