The Kern County Coroner’s Office has determined the cause of death of a big-rig driver who crashed into the California Aqueduct south of Bakersfield.

Raul Navarro, 32, of Calexico, Mexico, was driving a truck that left the roadway and entered the aqueduct on Interstate 5 near Laval Road in December 2024. Navarro died of accidental drowning.

His body was found in the truck’s cabin after the vehicle was removed from the water.