DESERT HOT SPRINGS: DHS Sgt. pulls seriously injured driver from burning vehicle

DESERT HOT SPRINGS — A driver was seriously injured when his vehicle overturned and burst into flames after plowing into a sculpture in a center median earlier this morning in Desert Hot Springs. The accident, which left the driver with major injuries happened on Pierson Boulevard, near Desert Hot Springs High School.

Emergency first responders were dispatched to the scene of the crash shortly before 8:45 a.m., according to Desert Hot Springs Deputy Chief Jim Henson. A DHSPD sergeant was first to arrive at the scene of the fiery wreck and found the driver trapped inside the wrecked and burning vehicle, described as a silver sedan.

With firefighters still responding to the scene the police official managed to cut the victim free from the vehicle before the flames spread. The driver was eventually rushed to an area hospital with major injuries.

During a subsequent investigation, officers determined the unidentified motorist was driving eastbound on Pierson Boulevard when his sedan barreled through the center median, smashing into and destroying a cement block sculpture within the center median, said Henson.

Excessive speed was suspected to be a contributing factor due to the amount of force required to plow through the concrete sculpture, according to Henson.

The cause of the crash remains 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.