Jose Cruz Perez, a 21-year-old from Logan Heights, has been identified as the driver of a Nissan 350Z coup that was in an accident on Tuesday, February 11.

The accident happened when the sports car took a dive off of the South Bay freeway connector.

Perez lost control of the sports car while he was merging onto eastbound State Route 54 from the northbound lanes of Interstate 5 in National City. The accident occurred at 2:30 am.

Police officers were notified about the accident after another person traveling on the road witnessed the sports car veer off from the connector and travel down a steep embankment. The embankment is situated slightly south of the Sweetwater River.

The California Highway Patrol did not know if Perez and the car had made it to the river or not.

They used all their resources searching the area for the Perez and the sports car. They were unsuccessful in the darkness of the early morning hours to locate the car or Perez.

A deceased Perez and his sports car were found approximately 4 hours after his initial disappearance. The car was spotted in a mud pond next to a shipbuilding yard. The worker who found him notified the California Highway Patrol about the wrecked vehicle.

Perez had been partially ejected from the driver’s side door.

The California Highway Patrol believes that speed may have been the factor that caused the accident on the highway. There has not been any indication that drugs and/or alcohol could have played a role in the accident.

The California Highway Patrol is still investigating the accident.

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