Alcohol Possible Factor in Fatal Freeway Crash

A man was killed in a single-car accident, possibly alcohol-related, Thursday night, the Highway Patrol reported.

Michael Jankins died when his car went off the northbound Golden State Freeway and fell into a storm drainage ditch at 7:55 p.m., California Highway Patrol Officer Doug Sweeney said.

Jankins, 55, of Castaic, was traveling alone, north of the Lake Hughes Road exit, Sweeney said. Police found the victim’s car upside-down. Jankins was taken to Henry Mayo Newhall Memorial Hospital in Valencia, where he died later that night, authorities said.

Inside Jankins’ car, officers found open beer cans and detected the smell of alcohol, Sweeney said. The cause of the accident, including the level of alcohol in Jankins’ blood, was being investigated, he said.