EASTVALE: Driver killed in fiery wreck after car hits concrete overpass pillar

EASTVALE — A motorist died after their vehicle plowed into a concrete freeway overpass pillar and burst into flames, Saturday morning, Oct. 21. The deadly, early morning accident happened on the eastbound Highway 60 at the Milliken Street on-ramp, just west of Interstate 15, in Eastvale.

California Highway Patrol officers, Cal Fire/Riverside County firefighters and other emergency first responders were dispatched to the scene of the fiery wreck shortly before 1:30 a.m., after passing motorists and other witnesses called 911 to report the accident and blaze, according to a CHP incident log.

Callers told emergency dispatchers that nobody was outside the vehicle and that the driver was possibly still inside the blazing wreckage of the car.

Eleven firefighters from two engine companies and one truck company responded to the reported accident, Cal Fire/Riverside County fire Public Information Officer Tawny Cabral explained in an incident report.

The first arriving engine company located a sedan that had smashed into a concrete overpass pillar and was “fully engulfed by fire,” said Cabral. Witnesses who remained at the scene after the accident told arriving emergency personnel they believed the driver had not gotten out of the vehicle and was believed to still be inside the sedan.

After receiving reports the driver was possibly trapped inside the burning vehicle, firefighters mounted an aggressive attack to bring the blaze under control, while CHP conducted traffic control and began investigating the cause of the crash.

After firefighters extinguished the fire, they located a person still sitting in the driver’s seat of the destroyed car. The victim, who has not been identified pending further investigation and notification of their family, was pronounced dead at the scene.

During their investigation, officers called for the temporary closure of the Milliken Street on-ramp to the eastbound 60 Freeway. The on-ramp remained closed for several hours until the wrecked vehicle was removed from the roadway and officials completed their initial investigation.

CHP has yet to determine the cause of the fatal crash and their investigation is active and ongoing.

This is a developing story that will be updated as information 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.