UPDATED: WINCHESTER: Speed, wet roads blamed for wreck that killed 2, injured 5
UPDATE: 12/23/2016 10:30 p.m.
Coroner’s officials have identified the two victims killed in a four vehicle, rollover traffic collision Friday, Dec. 23 as Hemet residents 31-year-old Elizabeth Vera and 61-year-old Joan Hoffenberg.
According to a coroner’s release Vera died at the scene of the accident and her time of death was listed as 9:54 a.m. Hoffenberg also died at the scene and her time of death was listed as 10:13 a.m.
UPDATE: 12/23/2016 5 p.m.
Firefighters had to extricate three victims from their vehicles. Will Whelan/Hemet Valley Incidents photo
More details are emerging regarding this morning’s four-vehicle, rollover traffic collision that killed two people and injured five additional victims.
The accident happened at the intersection of Domenigoni Parkway and Winchester Road in the unincorporated community of Winchester. The double-fatal accident happened about 9:51 a.m.
Reynaldo Rivera, 54, of Winchester, was driving a 2004 Nissan Titan pickup truck northbound on Winchester Road when he attempted to make a right turn onto eastbound Domenigoni Parkway. Rivera was traveling at 60 mph when he attempted to make the turn.
“Due to his speed and the wet roadway surface, (Rivera) failed to negotiate the turn and struck the concrete center divider,” according to CHP Public Information Officer Darren Meyer.
As Rivera lost control of his truck, the front of the Titan struck the left side of a 1995 Chevrolet Blazer that was stopped in the left turn lane of westbound Domenigoni Parkway.
Two people died and five others were injured in the deadly accident. Will Whelan/Hemet Valley Incidents photo
“The impact killed the adult female driver of the Blazer,” Meyer explained in a written press release.
The Titan then rolled over top of the Blazer and as it continued to travel in a northeasterly direction, it struck the left side of a 1995 Honda Accord, that was also stopped on Domenigoni Parkway at the intersection of Winchester Road.
“That impact resulted in fatal injuries to the adult female driver of the Accord,” Meyer said.
The Accord was then pushed into the left side of a 2004 Chevrolet pick-up truck, which was stopped at the same intersection.
The driver of the Chevrolet pick-up, identified as Bradley Hasseler, 29, of Temecula, was not injured.
After rolling over the Blazer and smashing into the Accord, the Titan continued overturning, eventually coming to rest back on its wheels.
Two people died in the four-vehicle traffic accident. Will Whelan/Hemet Valley Incidents photo
Rivera sustained head injuries and was transported to Riverside University Health System Medical Center in Moreno Valley. His adult passenger was also transported with moderate injuries.
In addition to the driver who was killed, the Blazer contained two female passengers who sustained minor injuries. They were both transported to Inland Valley Medical Center, where they were treated and released. It was not immediately known if the two female passengers were adults or minors.
The identities of the two victims killed in the accident have been withheld pending notification of their families.
The westbound lanes of Domenigoni Parkway were closed at Winchester Road for about three hours.
Alcohol and/or drug intoxication were ruled out as contributing factors in this collision.
ORIGINAL STORY
Firefighters found the mangled wreckage of four vehicles when they arrived on scene. Will Whelan/Hemet Valley Incidents photo
WINCHESTER – Two people were killed and five others were injured in a major, four vehicle, rollover traffic collision Friday, Dec. 23. The deadly accident happened in the area of Domenigoni Parkway and Winchester Road in the unincorporated community of Winchester.
Emergency first responders were dispatched to the scene of the wreck about 9:51 a.m.
18 firefighters from three engine companies and one truck company responded to the fatal accident, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department’s spokeswoman April Newman. They were assisted by the Riverside County Fire Department’s Hazardous Materials Team.
When Cal Fire/Riverside County firefighters arrived they found a four vehicles that all sustained major damage in a traffic collision at the location. Firefighters quickly determined three of the victims were trapped inside their mangled vehicles.
firefighters survey the scene of the deadly accident. Will Whelan/Hemet Valley Incidents photo
The on-scene incident commander declared the accident a mass casualty event and requested five ambulances to respond to the location.
Firefighter/paramedics immediately began assessing each of the victims, while extrication was begun to free the three victims who were trapped inside the vehicles.
Firefighters reported there were a total of seven victims, including one who had already succumbed to their injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene.
In addition to the person who had already died, one victim suffered serious injuries, two victims suffered moderate injuries, two victims suffered minor injuries, and a seventh victim was treated at the scene and declined further treatment.
Newman provided an update at about 10:30 a.m., explaining, “The patient with serious injuries has perished at the scene, for a total of two fatalities.”
Two vehicles overturned,with one ending up on its side. Will Whelan/Hemet Valley Incidents photo
The two victims who died at the scene have not been identified, pending notification of their families.
It was not immediately known if both victims killed in the collision were in the same or separate vehicles at the time of the accident.
After the victims were all safely extricated from their vehicles, AMR medics transported four victims to area hospitals. Their injuries were described as moderate to minor.
The roadway remained closed for about three hours before it was reopened to through traffic.
California Highway Patrol is investigating the cause of the fatal collision.
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This is a developing story. Additional information will be updated as it becomes available.
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Trevor Montgomery, who recently moved from Riverside County to Shasta County, runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.
Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident.
During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 27 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 14 grandchildren.
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