A man believed to have been ejected from the trunk of a vehicle when it crashed early Saturday morning on Highway 50 near 65th Street has been identified by the Sacramento County Coroner's Office as Matthew Jacob George, 19, of Rocklin.
A spokeswoman fro the Coroner's Office said the cause of death has not been determined pending an autopsy.
California Highway Patrol spokesman Officer Michael Bradley said CHP officers are continuing their investigation of the crash and returned to the scene today.
The driver of the vehicle, Jacinto Mendoza, 21, of Rancho Cordova, was arrested a short distance from the crash. He is being held in Sacramento County Jail on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter, driving under the influence, hit and run and child endangerment.
Bradley said investigators were scheduled to interview Mendoza later today and had not determined why George was in the trunk of the sedan.
A witness who assisted at the scene told The Bee that Mendoza was frantic following the crash, saying someone had been in the trunk and running down the freeway shouting a man's name. The witness said the other passengers told him no one had been in the trunk, but he now believes Mendoza was not intentionally fleeing the scene but rather searching for the missing passenger.
Bradley said eight people, including two children under the age of 5, were in the vehicle: three in the front seat, four in the back and one in the trunk.
He said a woman who left the scene with Mendoza is the mother of the two children in the car and could face charges.
The passengers, most of whom were from Rancho Cordova or Placerville, were taken to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
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