UPDATE: Crash off Poway Road Kills Driver

This article was updated with additional information released by the Medical Examiner’s Office.

One person was killed early Sunday morning after the car he was driving eastbound on Poway Road went over an embankment just west of Oak Knoll Road, according to the Sheriff’s Department.

Thomas Cantrell III, 30, of Poway was killed in the crash, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner’s Office. Witnesses reported seeing the late-model Mercedes E320 Cantrell was driving at a high rate of speed near the 12000 block of Poway Road just after 2:30 a.m.

For unknown reasons, Cantrell lost control of the car, which skidded sideways off the road and down an embankment. The Mercedes hit several trees and bushes before it struck a large tree approximately 30 feet off the roadway, inflicting severe head injuries to Cantrell, who was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Sheriff’s deputies received conflicting reports about a passenger that had been ejected from the vehicle, but a search of the area and continued interviews with witnesses concluded that the driver was the only person in the vehicle, according to the department.

According to the Medical Examiner’s Office, Cantrell was single and lived with his parents in Poway.