29-year-old film student dies in off-roading crash on California sand dunes, cops say

A 29-year-old film student died after an off-road vehicle rolled over the side of a California sand dune, police told news outlets.

The Chapman University student was working on a cinematography project with other students Friday, April 15, The Orange County Register reported.

The student was working on a production alongside three University of Southern California students, Cerise Valenzuela Metzger, a spokeswoman from Chapman University, told the news outlet.

The group was taking pictures on a sand dune in Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area near the California-Arizona border, according to the Los Angeles Times. The students were in an off-road vehicle that rolled back or over the crest of the dune.

“All of those on board were wearing their safety harness apart from the deceased,” California Highway Patrol Officer Arturo Platero told the L.A. Times. “The individual suffered fatal injuries in the rollover.”

The Chapman student was partially ejected from the vehicle, CBS LA reported.

He was identified as Peng Wang, a graduate student originally from China who was scheduled to graduate this semester, according to the news outlet.

“This is the most horrible thing any of us have experienced,” Dean of Chapman’s film school Stephen Galloway told CBS LA. “This was an extraordinary cinematographer.”

Platero told The Orange County Register there was no indication that speed, alcohol or drugs led to the crash.

“On the dunes the sand can shift, especially when the wind is blowing,” Platero told the news outlet. “And if you have any type of rollover and aren’t wearing a seat belt, it’s not going to be a good outcome.”

This story was originally published April 19, 2022 at 12:02 PM with the headline "29-year-old film student dies in off-roading crash on California sand dunes, cops say."