A 45-year-old motorist was killed when his pickup truck slammed into a hillside alongside Interstate 15 near Murrieta, authorities said Thursday.

The crash happened shortly after 9 p.m. Wednesday on northbound I-15 just south of Clinton Keith Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Officer Mike Lassig said that the victim, identified only as a Corona resident, was traveling at an unconfirmed speed in his 2005 Ford F-150 when he apparently lost control and veered toward the shoulder, going “up a dirt embankment, causing the Ford to overturn.”

“The driver was not wearing a seatbelt and was ejected from the vehicle,” Lassig said.

No other vehicles were involved.

Riverside County Fire Department paramedics reached the location minutes later and pronounced the motorist dead at th

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