UPDATED: WILDOMAR: Officials release details after victim crushed by own SUV in early-morning, rollover crash

UPDATED: Monday, Aug. 21, 12 a.m.

WILDOMAR — Sheriff’s officials have released additional information and confirmed a victim was crushed to death by their own SUV after a single-vehicle, rollover traffic accident, Sunday, Aug. 27.

The early-morning, fatal crash happened at the intersection of Lemon and Orange Streets, east of the I-15 Freeway, in Wildomar.

According to several residents who live at or near the intersection, the area where the deadly wreck happened has been plagued by many serious and fatal accidents in recent years.

One person who heard the accident said she has seen more than her fair share of serious collisions at the intersection, as well as on several nearby rural roads, where drivers are known to drive recklessly, speed and race each other.

Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s Wildomar Police Station and other emergency first responders rushed to the scene of the deadly accident about 1:36 a.m., after area residents heard the crash and called 911 to report the accident, Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Nathan Kaas explained in a written press release.

Witnesses told 911 dispatchers and investigating sheriff’s deputies that the vehicle had been traveling northbound on Lemon Street when the driver, who has not yet been publicly identified pending notification of the person’s family, attempted to make a turn from Lemon Street onto Orange Street.

Due to the SUV’s “high rate of speed,” the vehicle “rolled prior to coming to rest in a dirt field,” Kaas explained.

When sheriff and fire personnel arrived at the scene of the accident, they “located the driver and solo occupant of the vehicle, on the ground under the vehicle,” said Kaas, who explained, “The driver was pronounced deceased at the scene of the collision.”

Officials have not yet determined if the driver was under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol at the time of the collision, pending toxicology reports.

Anyone with information regarding this investigation or who witnessed the deadly crash is encouraged to contact Deputy Perry Willow of the Lake Elsinore Police Department Traffic Team at (951) 245-3300, or after hours at (951) 776-1099. Callers can refer to incident file number WI172390003 and can remain anonymous. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form.

 

WILDOMAR — Officials have released very few details after a person died in a single-vehicle, rollover traffic accident, Sunday Aug. 27. The early-morning, fatal accident happened at the intersection of Lemon and Orange Streets, east of the I-15 Freeway, in Wildomar.

California Highway Patrol officers, Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies and other emergency first responders rushed to the scene of the deadly crash at 1:38 a.m., after the accident was reported to 911 emergency dispatchers.

Eleven firefighters from two engine companies and one truck company were among those dispatched to the fatal wreck, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Public Information Officer Tawny Cabral explained in an incident report.

“The first arriving engine company reported one victim involved,” said Cabral. The engine crew found the victim had been ejected and was trapped under the wreckage of the SUV and required specialized equipment and a rescue operation to extricate the victim from under the vehicle.

County Fire radio traffic at the time indicated that about four minutes after fire officials called for assistance and the “Jaws of Life,” officials at the scene updated that the victim succumbed to their injuries and paramedics pronounced the person dead at the scene.

Based on the circumstances, members of the Lake Elsinore Police Department’s Traffic Team responded to the scene and assumed the investigation.

It was not immediately known if the victim, who has not been identified pending notification of family members, was wearing a seat belt at the time of the crash; however, one official at the scene who requested to remain anonymous called the deadly accident, “Entirely preventable and unnecessary.”

Sheriff’s officials at the scene called for the temporary closure of the roadway and intersection, while law enforcement and fire personnel worked the accident scene and investigated the cause of the deadly crash.

The fatal accident is still under investigation by Sheriff’s Traffic Team members, who explained no further information would be available regarding this collision until a later time.

Anyone with information about the accident or who witnessed the deadly crash is urged to contact sheriff officials at (951) 776-1099. Callers can remain anonymous. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form.

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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, The Valley Chronicle 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.