Santa Maria man killed in Oceano Dunes off-roading crash identified
California State Parks has identified the man killed in an off-highway vehicle crash on the Oceano Dunes on Saturday.
Alejandro Espinoza Ruiz, 32, of Santa Maria passed away as a result of injuries sustained in an recreational off-highway vehicle crash on June 26, State Parks Chief Ranger Kevin Pearce said Monday.
According to State Parks, rangers and lifeguards responded to reports of the crash around 12:15 p.m. Saturday involving a privately owned vehicle around the area of Sand Highway marker 22.
According to a news release, the vehicle had crashed in an approximately 20 foot dune.
Emergency responders found three adult men, all around 30 years of age, at the scene. One, Ruiz, was deceased and the other two required medical attention.
One of the men was transported by helicopter and a second transported by ambulance to local hospitals.
Ruiz’s death was the first fatality at the Oceano Dunes since the popular off-roading park near Pismo Beach reopened following a lengthy coronavirus-related closure.
The Oceano Dunes had been closed to vehicle use from March 2020 to October, when the park opened to 1,000 street-legal cars on the beach per day.
Then, in February, the park further reopened to allow 1,000 off-highway vehicles (OHVs) and 1,000 street-legal cars on the dunes per day. The park also opened 100 overnight camping spots.
The Oceano Dunes entered its final reopening phase on June 15.
Before Ruiz’s death, the most recent death at the dunes occured on July 13, 2019, when 18-year-old Sacramento teen Alan Chernitskiy went off a 30-foot dune and fell off the bike he was riding.
That year, there were six total deaths due to crashes on the dunes, according to Pearce.
This story was originally published June 28, 2021 at 2:49 PM.
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