Two men were killed in separate off-road vehicle accidents at the Means Dry Lake in Johnson Valley Friday night, October 4, prior to the Sheriff’s Desert Run off-road event. CHP Onvestigators said about 11 p.m., Eric Turvey, 35, of Yucca Valley, was driving a 1979 Jeep Wrangler in the open desert. Turvey made an unsafe turn to the right and his vehicle rolled over. Turvey was wearing a seatbelt; his 32-year-old passenger, Kevin Fisher, from Morongo Valley, was not. Kevin Fisher was thrown from the Jeep and died at the scene.
Then about 11:35 p.m., Friday, 29-year-old David Davis from Yucca Valley was driving a 1997 Jeep Grand Cherokee in the open desert at Means Dry Lake. Davis made an unsafe turn to the left and the Jeep rolled over several times. David Davis, who was not wearing a seatbelt, was thrown from the Jeep and died a few minutes after midnight. His 20-year-old passenger, Tyler Brooks, from Joshua Tree, was wearing his seatbelt and sustained minor injuries.
The Morongo Basin Sheriff’s Search and Rescue team was holding its annual Desert Run at the Means Dry Lake in Johnson Valley, and at least one of the crashes occurred on the main road in the camping area. The California Highway Patrol reminds residents to wear their seatbelts while driving or riding in any type of motor vehicle.
