Gil Cortez

PRISON OFFICER AND DOG KILLED IN CRASH NEAR WARNER SPRINGS

March 25, 2013 (Warner Springs) -- Sgt. Gil Cortez, an officer with the California Rehabilitation Center in Norco, was killed along with his service dog after his vehicle rolled over this morning on State Route 79 half a mile south of San Felipe Road.

Cortez was leading several corrections vehicles taking dogs to conduct drug searches at La Cima Conservation Camp in Julian, a fire training camp for inmates. For unknown reasons, he lost control of the Crown Victoria, which rolled over and landed upright.  Officers rushed to extricate Cortez, who was taken to the Warner Springs Fire Station but died before he could be airlifted to a hospital. 


Error message

Support community news in the public interest! As nonprofit news, we rely on donations from the public to fund our reporting -- not special interests. Please donate to sustain East County Magazine's local reporting and/or wildfire alerts at https://www.eastcountymedia.org/donate to help us keep people safe and informed across our region.