Man Who Crashed Off Ortega Highway Identified As Person Charged In Child Sex Case

2/22 Update at 9:20 a.m.:

The man who died Monday afternoon after he veered off Ortega Highway and crashed his SUV nearly 600 feet below the road, has been identified.

Mark Jay Fox, 62, a resident of Cary, North Carolina, was found dead at approximately 2 p.m. Monday by firefighters who attempted to rescue him. According to Capt. Mike Williams of the Cary Police Department, Fox had been arrested Jan. 19 on charges that he touched a minor in inappropriate ways over the course of several months.

"It is the same person (who crashed)," Williams confirmed, noting that Fox was not considered a fugitive.

According to published media reports, Fox was a teaching assistant at East Cary Middle School in North Carolina. The victim was not a student at the school, according to the reports.

According to a Riverside County coroner's report, Fox went off the road about one mile west of the Lookout Restaurant just outside Lake Elsinore city limits.

It took nearly two hours to reach the crash site. Witnesses reported that Fox veered off the road at approximately 12:15 p.m. Monday. But the vehicle landed in what firefighters described as "steep, rugged terrain," and it took a Cal Fire helicopter to finally locate the wreckage.

When firefighters reached Fox, he was dead.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

2/21 Update at 2:10 p.m.: Riverside County Fire Department/Cal Fire is reporting that firefighters have reached the vehicle and that the occupant, an adult male, did not survive the accident. Firefighters will remain at the scene for recovery.

2/21 Update at 2:05 p.m.: CHP is reporting that it has contacted the Riverside County Coroner's Office regarding this incident, but no fatalities have yet been confirmed. Information will be posted as it becomes available.

2/21 Update at 1:33 p.m.: Riverside County Fire Department/Cal Fire is now reporting that the vehicle is nearly 600 feet off the road.

2/21 Update at 1:20 p.m.: Riverside County Fire Department/Cal Fire is reporting that Copter 901 has a visual on the vehicle. Firefighters are attempting to make access in very steep, rugged terrain. Updates will be posted as information becomes available.

Original 2/21 post:

A solo vehicle, which the CHP is reporting as a dark-colored Jeep Cherokee, has gone over the side of the Ortega Highway, west of Lookout Restaurant just outside Lake Elsinore.

The vehicle is 200-300 feet over the side of the road, according to a Riverside County Fire Department/Cal Fire report.

The accident was reported at 12:18 p.m.

Cal Fire Copter 901 was requested by the incident commander to perform an air rescue and assist in reaching the vehicle to check for victims.

According to the report, CHP and 35 firefighters are on the scene.

Updates will be posted as information becomes available.

The cause of the accident is under investigation.

Ice and snow conditions have been reported along the Ortega, west of Lake Elsinore.