Victorville College Basketball Player, 20, Dies After Car Plunges 80 Feet Off I-15 in Cajon Pass

Jheney N. Harris, a 20-year-old Victorville woman who played basketball at Victor Valley College and dreamed of reaching the WNBA, died Wednesday afternoon, July 15, when a vehicle she was riding in left southbound Interstate 15 in the Cajon Pass and rolled roughly 80 feet down an embankment, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department and the Victor Valley News.

The California Highway Patrol said the crash happened around 1:53 p.m. north of Kenwood Avenue in Devore, after 9-1-1 dispatchers received reports of a vehicle that had left the roadway. Emergency crews arrived to find the car resting upside down at the bottom of the embankment with three people trapped inside, according to a written statement from the San Bernardino County Fire Department.

Harris was pronounced dead at the scene, the Sheriff's Department said. The two other occupants, identified by the NY Post as Harris's best friend and the friend's mother, were critically injured.

A Technical Rescue in Triple-Digit Heat

Because of the terrain, San Bernardino County Fire upgraded the response to a technical rescue operation, bringing in the CAL FIRE San Bernardino Unit and the San Bernardino National Forest to help crews descend the steep slope, according to the Victor Valley News. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Aviation Division hoisted one critically injured patient out by helicopter to a trauma center. A second critically injured patient was pulled out in a Stokes basket by the county fire department's Urban Search and Rescue team and then taken by ambulance.

Fire officials said the coordinated effort between multiple agencies allowed rescuers to reach the patients quickly despite the hazardous embankment and triple-digit temperatures that day.

The CHP's San Bernardino Area office is still investigating what caused the vehicle to leave the freeway. Neither the CHP nor the Sheriff's Department has released a specific cause as of this writing. Anyone with information has been asked to contact CHP Officer S. De Alva at (909) 383-4247.

Remembering Jheney Harris

Harris, who went by Jhenéy Wallace and used her family's surname publicly, played varsity volleyball at her Victorville high school before continuing her athletic career at Victor Valley College, where she played on the women's basketball team, according to the NY Post. She had hopes of eventually playing professionally in the WNBA.

Her college team posted a tribute on Instagram, writing that "Jheney was more than a teammate. She was a friend, a daughter, a sister, cousin, granddaughter, and a cherished member of our Ram family whose impact will never be forgotten."

Her mother, Tamara Wallace, told KTLA5 that she initially called her daughter's phone after hearing about the crash, and instead of Jheney answering, a police officer picked up and delivered the news that her daughter had died. "She was a great daughter," Wallace said. "She was my best friend, my first-born. Always kept me smiling and encouraged me to do things. She was the best sister to her little sister and brother, very bubbly, always happy and loving."

Wallace has since launched a GoFundMe titled "Celebrating Jhenéy Wallace's Beautiful Life" to cover funeral costs. As of this writing, the campaign has raised more than $14,500 of its $15,000 goal, according to the Victor Valley News. In the fundraiser description, Wallace wrote that her daughter was "a loving big sister, cherished granddaughter, niece, cousin, teammate, and friend whose kindness, bright smile, and loving spirit touched so many lives," adding that "her passing has left an unimaginable void in not just my heart but everyone she was around."

What Remains Unknown

No cause of the crash has been publicly confirmed. The CHP's investigation remains open, and officials have not said whether speed, road conditions, mechanical failure, or another factor contributed to the vehicle leaving the freeway. The condition of the two survivors, Harris's best friend and the friend's mother, has not been publicly updated since they were transported to trauma centers in critical condition.

The Cajon Pass stretch of I-15 is a notoriously steep, high-speed grade connecting the Victor Valley to the Inland Empire and has a long history of serious crashes tied to its terrain and traffic volume. Whether that history played any role here is something only the CHP's completed investigation will reveal.