HEMET: Man dies in solo-vehicle wreck after suffering unknown medical crisis

HEMET — A man believed to have suffered a medical emergency shortly before midnight, New Year’s eve, crashed into two poles supporting a large, lighted, display sign at a Hemet gas station and later died at a local hospital. The accident happened late Sunday evening, Dec. 31, in the area of Lyon and W. Florida Avenues.

The fatal collision was one of two deadly wrecks that happened less than six miles apart in Hemet over the holiday weekend.

SEE RELATED: 73-Year-old Hemet resident killed in solo-vehicle rollover

City of Hemet Police and Fire personnel were dispatched to the scene of the crash at 11:21 p.m., after other motorists and witnesses called 911 to report the collision, Hemet Police Lt. Jeff Davis explained after the wreck.

Callers told emergency dispatchers the victim was unresponsive and trapped inside his white, GMC pickup truck after the crash, which happened on the northwest corner of the intersection.

When officials arrived, they found the victim’s truck in the Shell gas station parking lot resting against two, heavily damaged poles. The truck had sustained major, front-end damage and neither or the vehicle’s doors could be opened due to damage from the collision.

When the truck struck the two poles, the impact caused a large display showing the gas station’s fuel prices and company logo to break off and come crashing to the ground next to the truck.

The first arriving officials determined the driver was not breathing and was in traumatic full-arrest. Firefighters quickly confirmed they would need to perform a cut and rescue operation and immediately began setting up specialized equipment, including the “Jaws of Life,” to free the victim from his truck.

Within minutes, firefighters managed to cut away the passenger-side door of the truck and they extricated the victim from his vehicle.

City of Hemet firefighter/paramedics and American Medical Response medics immediately began assessing and treating the man for injuries. Although the victim had no visible injuries from the crash, paramedics began performing CPR and providing other, life-saving measures in an effort to revive the victim.

When AMR headed to the hospital with the victim, two City of Hemet paramedics rode in the ambulance and continued efforts to resuscitate the driver.

AMR medics rushed the victim to Hemet Valley Hospital for further evaluation and treatment. Despite medical intervention, the driver later succumbed to his medical emergency and he was pronounced dead at the hospital by emergency room staff.

Officials have not released the victim’s name, pending further investigation and notification of the man’s family.

Based on the circumstances, members of Hemet PD’s Traffic Team responded to the scene and assumed the investigation.

Traffic Team members later determined the deceased man had been traveling eastbound on Florida Avenue approaching Lyon Avenue when he suddenly swerved across opposing lanes of traffic and left the westbound side of the roadway. The truck then traveled into the gas station parking lot where it collided with the two poles holding the gas station’s sign.

The accident and cause of the driver’s death is still under investigation.

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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.