UPDATE #3: HEMET: Juveniles-one walking, another riding bicycle-hospitalized after struck by motorist
UPDATED: Monday, Sept. 4, 10 p.m.
Writer’s note regarding photographs included below.
HEMET — A family friend of the 16-year-old victim who was one of two people struck by a car earlier today provided an update regarding the young victim’s condition, explaining the girl has already undergone the first of many surgeries she will have to undergo.
Melina Yazmin Villalobos, who identified herself as a friend of the girl’s family, explained the teenager suffered “damage to her right lung, right-side broken ribs, a ruptured spleen, injury to her kidneys and liver, a broken jaw and a head injury.”
Fortunately, a CT scan showed the injury to the girl’s brain is minor and she is currently “stable, but very critical,” Villalobos explained.
No updates have been provided regarding the other teen’s injuries.
This is a developing story that will be updated as additional information becomes available.
UPDATED: Tuesday, Sept. 4, 6:30 p.m.
A black and green mountain bike was left in a crumpled pile in the rocky ravine where the victims were thrown after the accident. Victoria Naeem photo
HEMET — Authorities have released details about this afternoon’s, major-injury, vehicle versus pedestrian and bicyclist accident that sent two teenagers to an area trauma center; one with serious and the other with critical injuries.
The accident happened when the driver that struck the minors began “sneezing repeatedly” and apparently did not see the teens before smashing into them, according to Hemet PD officials.
One official at the scene speculated that the region’s poor air quality from numerous major area fires might have caused the sneezing fit that led to the collision.
In spite of the area’s proximity to Diamond Valley Middle School – located barely one mile from the scene of the accident – there is no sidewalk, bike lane, or other safe area along the four-lane stretch of busy roadway for bicyclists or pedestrians to travel.
City of Hemet Police and Fire personnel were dispatched to the scene of the accident about 12:20 p.m., after several people called 911 to report the major-injury collision, Hemet Police Sergeant Dan Reinbolt explained in a written press release after the incident.
When they arrived, officials found two victims down in a shallow, rocky, drainage ravine, where they had been thrown after being struck by a car. Officials said the vehicle that struck the teens was a gold, 2004 Hyundai Sonata.
“The collision injured a 16-year-old pedestrian and a 17-year-old bicyclist, whose names are not being released at this time,” said Reinbolt. “Both teens were transported to a local trauma center.”
The 16-year-old is listed in critical condition and the 17-year-old is listed in stable condition, according to Reinbolt.
The driver of the car suffered minor injuries and remained on scene, where his injuries were evaluated and treated by paramedics.
Rescuers work to move one of the victims out of a rocky ravine to a waiting ambulance. Victoria Naeem photo
During their investigation, Hemet PD traffic investigators determined the pedestrian and bicyclist were traveling “south on State Street, on the east side of the roadway, in the north bound lane, against the normal flow of traffic,” Reinbolt explained.
The driver of the car was traveling northbound on State Street at about 35 to 40 mph towards the pedestrian and bicyclist, when he “began to sneeze repeatedly,” said Reinbolt, who explained, “The driver apparently did not see the teens and struck them both simultaneously.”
Neither alcohol nor drug intoxication are believed to be contributing factors in the collision and the driver voluntarily submitted to a blood sample for toxicology tests, which will be tested and available at a later date, according to Reinbolt.
Officials investigating the tragic collision called for the temporary closure of all northbound traffic on State Street, from Domenigoni Parkway to Chambers Street. The roadway was expected to remain closed for about two to three hours, to ensure the safety of emergency personnel at the scene.
See photos and videos below.
This is a developing story that will be updated as additional information becomes available.
This afternoon’s accident involving a car and two teenagers brought numerous emergency first responders racing to the scene of the accident. Victoria Naeem photo
HEMET — Very few official details have been released, but authorities are investigating a vehicle versus bicyclist and pedestrian collision after two people – including one who was walking and another who was riding a bicycle – were run over while traveling along State Street. The accident happened north of Domenigoni Parkway/Gibbel Road in Hemet.
The impact launched the two victims, reported to both be juveniles, into a shallow, rocky ravine that runs along the east side of State Street. One of the victims was airlifted to a local trauma center and both were hospitalized with major, traumatic injuries.
City of Hemet Police and Fire personnel were dispatched to the scene of the accident about 12:20 p.m., after several people called 911 to report the major-injury accident.
Police officials began arriving at the scene about one minute after the accident was reported and dispatched to emergency first responders. Firefighters, paramedics and AMR ambulances quickly followed.
When they arrived, officials found two victims down in the rocky ravine, where they had been thrown after being struck by a car. The vehicle was described as a gold Hyundai Sonata. The driver of the Hyundai remained at the scene and was reportedly cooperating with the accident investigation.
After assessing the two victims, firefighter/paramedics immediately summoned a Mercy Air Ambulance to the location to airlift the female, who was the more seriously injured of the two victims. The male was transported by ground ambulance to an area hospital.
A Mercy Air Ambulance was called to the scene to airlift the more critically injured of the two teens. Miguel Shannon/Epicenter News photo
There have been no updates or further information provided or known about the two victims or their conditions after the crash.
Based on the circumstances, Hemet PD traffic investigators responded to the scene and assumed the investigation.
During their investigation, officers determined the driver of the Hyundai plowed into the two people, one pedestrian and one who was riding a black and green mountain bike.
After the accident, the bicycle remained at the scene and was crumpled into a twisted pile of metal that was barely recognizable as a bike.
It was not immediately known what led the driver of the Hyundai to hit the pedestrian and bicyclist.
The Hyundai that struck the bicyclists sustained moderate front end damage and a shattered windshield from when one or both of the victims were thrown over the hood of the car before being launched into the ravine.
The driver reportedly suffered minor injuries and was evaluated and treated at the scene. It was not immediately known if the driver, who has not been identified, was transported to an area hospital for further treatment.
Hemet PD social media release advising area residents to stay away from the accident scene.
Hemet PD’s investigation into the accident is active and ongoing and officials have not yet made a statement or released any official information about this accident, other than to advise area residents to stay away from the location, due to having to close down a portion of State Street while they complete their investigation.
This is a developing story that will be updated as additional information becomes available.
Click any image to open full-size gallery.
Timothy Franzese/Public Safety Incidents video
Writer’s note: Several people have loudly and vocally complained about my choice for the cover/title image of this accident; an image they believed showed the 16-year-old, female victim of this crash without her shirt on, while being treated at the scene by paramedics.
The photograph in question actually showed both victims, a teenage boy without his shirt on and a girl, who was dressed in matching teal shorts and shirt. The person seen without a shirt on in the image in question was not the female victim, but her male counterpart. (See photos.)
I apologize for any frustration, anger or confusion the image has caused.
-TM
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, 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.
Wow… Just a badie all the way around. Kids hurt and a driver traumatized….