PERRIS: One killed, two injured in fiery, head-on wreck

PERRIS – One person died and two others were injured in a fiery, head-on traffic collision Tuesday evening, May 2, according to California Highway Patrol and Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire officials. The deadly accident happened near the intersection of Harley John and Cajalco Roads east of Lake Mathews in an unincorporated area of Perris.

CHP officers and other emergency first responders were dispatched to the scene of the fatal collision about 5:58 p.m., when several people called 911 to report the fiery wreck.

Callers told emergency dispatchers that after the collision, one of the vehicles burst into flames. At least one caller also told dispatchers that there was a male victim trapped inside the burning wreckage of their vehicle.

When the first CHP officer arrived at the scene, they reported finding two wrecked vehicles, with one that was fully engulfed in flames. The officer confirmed there was a driver trapped inside the burning vehicle.

Ten firefighters from three engine companies responded to the fatal traffic collision, according to Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire spokeswoman Jody Hagemann.

“Cal Fire/Riverside County firefighters are on scene of a traffic collision with fire and entrapment,” Hagemann explained in an initial report. “The incident resulted in one confirmed fatality.”

Firefighter/paramedics evaluated two other people injured in the collision. Officials did not specify if the two other victims were in the same car or in different vehicles. AMR medics eventually transported the other two victims by ground ambulance to an area hospital for further evaluation and treatment. Their injuries were described as minor and moderate.

While firefighters and others were extinguishing the fire and clearing the damaged vehicles from the scene, CHP officials began investigating the cause of the deadly wreck.

During their investigation, officers called for the temporary closure of the southbound lanes of travel on Harley John Road. The road was reopened several hours later.

The cause of the collision is sill under investigation.

 

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Trevor Montgomery runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News and Anza Valley Outlook and also writes for 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 and breaking his back 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.