Driver found dead hours after car went off Durham Freeway into wooded area

A driver who was found dead several hours after his car went off the Durham Freeway Saturday morning has been identified.

Authorities identified the man as 18-year-old Marvin Cruz.

Police responded around 2:30 p.m. to the area of Hillandale Road and Fulton Street after a woman called to report a car in the woods.

"I can sit on the porch and can see through the woods, and I said 'why is there a car in the woods?' So me and my daughter, we walked over, and the car was in the woods," she told ABC11. "So I called 911."

Authorities said a man was driving a 2002 Jeep Liberty sometime early in the morning when his vehicle struck the left guardrail.

The driver lost control and traveled sideways across four lanes.

The car eventually left the road and went up over an embankment.

The vehicle continued down the other side of the hill and came to rest deep in the wooded area.

Police said speed was a factor in the crash. It is unknown at this time if alcohol or drugs were a factor.

Anyone with information is asked to call Investigator Munter at (919) 560-4935, ext. 29409 or CrimeStoppers at (919) 683-1200. CrimeStoppers pays cash rewards for information leading to arrests in felony cases and callers never have to identify themselves.