UPDATE #3: HEMET: Victim ID’d after 2-vehicle, rollover wreck and ejection kills 1, injures 3

UPDATED: Sunday, Mar. 25, 8:30 p.m.

HEMET — Officials have identified a man who died after a two-vehicle, rollover traffic collision last night. The deadly accident happened on Ramona Expressway/Mountain Avenue, between N. Hemet and N. Soboba Streets, in Hemet.

Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner’s officials identified Timothy Gibbons, 23, of Hemet, as the passenger of a Ford Focus who died in the wreck.

A coroner’s release indicated Gibbons succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased upon arrival at Riverside University Health System Medical Center. He died about an hour and a half after the fatal collision and his time of death was listed as 11:54 p.m.

Although none of the involved agencies have released any official information regarding the crash, sources close to the investigation advised last night that neither alcohol nor drug intoxication had been ruled out as possible contributing factors in the crash.

At least one witness at the scene last night reported having been behind the Ford when the accident happened and believed the driver was possibly intoxicated. The witness reportedly had been filming the person’s driving actions either just before or when the driver actually lost control and plowed into the passenger side of a Chevy Z-71 pickup truck, sending it into a dirt field adjacent to the roadway.

Initial reports indicated the Chevy’s driver was ejected from the truck as it overturned; however, other sources indicated the man possibly self-extricated from the truck after the accident.

It was not immediately known if the person who filmed the accident called 911 to report the driver’s alleged reckless actions before the accident happened.

According to witnesses at the scene, there were three other occupants in the pickup at the time of the collision, as well as two occupants in the Ford. A total of four victims were eventually transported to area hospitals in separate ambulances. Their injuries reportedly ranged from moderate to major.

Hemet PD officials have not yet released any information regarding their investigation, which is active and ongoing.

Anyone with information about this investigation is encouraged to contact Hemet Police Department at (951) 765-2400. Callers can refer to incident file number 18-2940 and can remain anonymous.

 

UPDATED: Sunday, Mar. 25, 6:45 a.m.

One confirmed killed, 3 others injured, after 2-vehicle rollover wreck, ejection

HEMET — Officials have confirmed that one person, described only as an adult male, died after a vehicle the man was a passenger in lost control and plowed into a pickup truck, causing the truck to overturn last night. According to witnesses at the scene, just before the accident happened the driver of the Ford had been speeding, driving recklessly and swerving on the highway.

According to witnesses, the driver of the Ford who reportedly caused the collision had been speeding and driving recklessly just before the deadly wreck, which happened about 10:30 p.m., on Ramona Expressway/Mountain Avenue, between N. Hemet and N. Soboba Streets, in Hemet.

According to a paramedic at the scene who requested to not be identified, the victim died either while en route to or shortly after arriving at Riverside University Health System Medical Center in Moreno Valley. He died about an hour and a half after the fatal collision.

Hemet PD’s investigation uncovered that at least one person behind the Ford believed the driver was possibly intoxicated and had been filming the person’s driving actions when the driver lost control and plowed into the Chevy truck’s passenger side, sending it careening out of control.

It was not immediately known if the person who filmed the accident called 911 to report the driver’s alleged reckless actions before the accident happened.

The impact of the collision sent the Chevy Z-71 pickup careening out of control, where it overturned in a dirt field adjacent to the roadway. The truck’s driver was reportedly ejected from the truck as it overturned; however, others have said the drive of the truck had possibly climbed out of the truck by himself after the crash. It was not immediately known if the man victim had been wearing a seat belt.

According to witnesses at the scene, there were other occupants in the pickup at the time of the collision and a total of four victims were eventually transported to area hospitals in separate ambulances. Their injuries reportedly ranged from moderate to major.

Hemet PD officials have not yet released any information regarding their investigation, which is active and ongoing.

Anyone with information about this investigation is encouraged to contact Hemet Police Department at (951) 765-2400. Callers can refer to incident file number 18-2940 and can remain anonymous.

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

 

ORIGINAL STORY: BREAKING: HEMET: One ejected, 3 others injured after 2-vehicle rollover wreck

HEMET — Details are still emerging about a two-vehicle, rollover crash that happened on Ramona Expressway/Mountain Avenue, between N. Hemet and N. Soboba Streets, in Hemet earlier tonight. One person was reportedly ejected as one of the vehicles overturned.

Early and unconfirmed reports from the scene indicated one person may have died after being extricated from one of the two wrecked vehicles; however, that has not yet been confirmed.

The accident was one of two major wrecks that are being investigated by area law enforcement officers tonight. The two accidents happened in neighboring communities almost exactly one hour apart. The other accident involved a motorcyclist who died after being involved in a wreck along the Palms to Pines section of Highway 74, just east of Scenic Drive, in the Pinyon Pines area of Mountain Center.

SEE ALSO: BREAKING: MOUNTAIN CENTER: Motorcyclist killed in Hwy 74 wreck

City of Hemet Police and Fire personnel, Riverside County Sheriff’s, CHP, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire and other emergency first responders were dispatched to the scene of the wreck just after 10:30 p.m., after receiving multiple 911 calls from other motorists and witnesses reporting what they believed to be a head-on collision.

It was later determined that while the vehicles had been traveling toward each other just before the crash, the accident occurred after the driver of the Ford lost control, fish-tailed wildly, and struck the oncoming pickup truck broadside, causing it to overturn.

Callers told city and county emergency dispatchers one of the vehicles had overturned and that there were people trapped and injured inside both vehicles needing immediate medical care.

Officials began arriving at the scene within minutes and found the mangled wrecks of two vehicles, described as a gray Ford Focus and a dark-colored Chevy pickup truck. The truck had overturned in a dirt field adjacent to the roadway and the Ford was sitting in the lanes of traffic. Vehicle parts, including one of the Ford’s front axles and other debris, were strewn across Ramona Expressway, making the roadway impassable.

Firefighter/paramedics immediately began assessing and treating those injured in the collision and requested all incoming police and fire personnel to continue responding to the chaotic scene to assist. Based on the circumstances, four AMR ambulance crews and an AMR supervisor were also requested.

City of Hemet firefighters performed a cut and rescue operation to free the seriously injured driver of the Ford from the mangled wreckage of the sedan. According to witnesses at the scene, the Ford driver was alert, conscious and speaking with rescuers in the beginning of the extrication; however, the person’s condition reportedly declined rapidly after being rushed to Riverside University Health System’s Trauma Center in Moreno Valley.

According to witnesses at the scene, just before the accident happened the driver of the Ford had been speeding, driving recklessly and swerving on the highway.

At least one person behind the Ford believed the driver was possibly intoxicated and had been filming the person’s driving actions when the driver plowed into the Chevy truck’s passenger side, sending it careening out of control.

It was not immediately known if the person who filmed the accident called 911 to report the driver’s alleged reckless actions before the accident happened.

Including the passenger of the Ford, a total of four victims were eventually transported to area hospitals for further evaluation and treatment.

Hemet PD officials have not yet released any information regarding the collision and their investigation is active and ongoing.

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

Click any image to open full-size gallery.

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 46, recently moved to Shasta County from Riverside County and 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.