UPDATE (December 19, 2017 9:32 a.m.): The man found dead inside of a vehicle down in the embankment of the Kern River Canyon last week has been identified at 25-year-old Kyle Greene, according to the Coroner's Office.
Greene was driving his vehicle that left the road and crashed, according to the Coroner's release. He was found near mile marker 16.5 on SR-178 on Dec. 12th.
A postmortem exam will be performed on Greene at a later date.
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UPDATE (December 12, 2017 2:55 p.m.): A man was found dead inside of a vehicle approximately 150 feet down in the embankment of the Kern River Canyon, according to the California Highway Patrol.
A missing person's report was filed Tuesday by family for a 25-year-old man from Bakersfield. The family located the vehicle down in the canyon, according to CHP.
The body will be extricated and the vehicle will be brought up after, according to CHP.
The man appeared to be traveling westbound on Highway 178 when he lost control of the vehicle, left the roadway and fell into the canyon. CHP said the driver was wearing his seatbelt.
The victim has not yet been identified.
The crash is under investigation by CHP. It is unclear if alcohol or drugs played a role in the crash.
Highway 178 at the mouth of the canyon reopened around 4:30 p.m. after being closed Tuesday afternoon.
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A fatal crash at the mouth of the Kern River Canyon this afternoon has caused the closure of Highway 178 through the canyon, according to California Highway Patrol.
This is a breaking news story, please check back for more information.
