UPDATED: HEMET: Mother killed in head-on wreck was under the influence, say officials

UPDATED: Monday, July 24, 4:45 p.m.

HEMET — Officials reported this morning that a mother who died in a head-on collision Thursday, July 20, showed signs she may have been under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs when she allowed her car to drift into the path of another oncoming car. The deadly wreck happened on Stetson Avenue near the Hemet Ryan Airport, between Warren Road and Cawston Avenue, in Hemet.

When officers and firefighters arrived at the scene they found the destroyed wreckages of two vehicles, which officials described as a 2001 Geo Metro and a 2001 Toyota Camry.

One of the victims was trapped inside her vehicle and had to be cut free by firefighters using the “Jaws of Life” to extricate her from her destroyed car.

Both drivers were transported by ambulance to Riverside University Health System’s trauma center, where the driver of the Geo Metro later succumbed to her injuries. She was identified by family members and coroner’s officials as 44-year-old, Adelina “Ida” Rodriguez, of Ontario.

According to a release from the Riverside Sheriff-Coroner’s Office, Rodriguez was pronounced dead at 10:10 p.m., about two and one half hours after the deadly collision.

During a preliminary accident investigation, Hemet PD Traffic Team investigators learned Rodriguez, who had been driving the Geo, was traveling eastbound on Stetson Avenue from Warren Road. According to witnesses she was driving about “45 to 50 miles per hour,” Hemet PD Sgt. Dan Reinbolt explained in a written press release after the fatal crash.

Two different witnesses reported to officers that they had seen the Geo “drifting from left to right and at one time entering the oncoming west bound lane of traffic,” said Reinbolt.

As Rodriguez approached Hemet Ryan Airport witnesses said she entered the westbound lane – while traveling east – and smashed head-on into the Toyota. Witnesses later told officers the Toyota was traveling about 45 to 50 miles per hour when the Geo plowed into her vehicle. 

The driver of the Toyota is expected to make a full recovery, according to Reinbolt.

“There are signs the driver of the Geo Metro may have been under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs” when the collision occurred, said officials.

The investigation into the deadly wreck is active and ongoing.

 

UPDATE

HEMET — A woman killed in a head-on wreck Thursday, July 20, has been identified by family members as Adelina “Ida” Vivian-Rodriguez. The deadly accident happened on Stetson Avenue near the Hemet Ryan Airport in Hemet.

“She was a beautiful, kind-hearted woman who had two teenage boys who she loved with all of her heart,” Tina Vivian said about her sister after her tragic death. “Ida had so much love…and she will always be in our hearts.”

The victim’s family has set up a gofundme account to help raise the funds necessary for burial expenses and other costs.

After the first day, the fundraiser had raised nearly $900 towards the fundraiser’s $10,000 goal. Anyone willing and able to donate is encouraged to do so.

 

HEMET — A woman was killed when her vehicle plowed head-on into another car Thursday, July 20. The deadly, head-on accident happened on Stetson Avenue near the Hemet Ryan Airport in Hemet.

City of Hemet Police and Fire Departments responded to the scene of the fatal wreck about 7:40 p.m., after several motorists and witnesses called 911 to report the accident. Callers told dispatchers the sole female occupant of one of the vehicles was severely injured and unconscious and was trapped inside the mangled wreckage of her vehicle.

When they arrived, officials found two heavily damaged vehicles and vehicle parts and debris strewn across the roadway. The vehicles were described by a witness at the scene as a Toyota Camry and a Saturn.

The first arriving fire officials immediately called for assistance in a cut and rescue operation to free the injured woman from her vehicle. Cal Fire/Riverside County firefighters from Hemet/Ryan’s Helitack Unit responded from the nearby Hemet Ryan Airport with the “Jaws of Life” and assisted with cutting the victim free from her vehicle.

Both drivers and sole-occupants of the vehicles were transported to Riverside University Health System’s trauma center in Moreno Valley. Despite life-saving efforts, the victim who had been trapped inside her vehicle succumbed to her injuries and was pronounced dead by hospital staff.

The victim’s identity has been withheld pending notification of her family.

No updates were available regarding the second driver.

Hemet PD Traffic investigators called for the temporary closure of Stetson Avenue between Warren Road and Cawston Avenue while they investigated the cause of the deadly wreck.

Their investigation is active and ongoing.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

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.

s a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and has 13 children and 12 – soon to be 13 – grandchildren.