HEMET: Three hospitalized after two-vehicle rollover accident
HEMET — Three people including two adults and a young child were hospitalized after a two-vehicle, rollover traffic collision in Hemet this afternoon. The accident happened at the intersection of S. Sanderson Avenue and Mustang Way.
A grateful mom hugs her son at the scene of a rollover accident. Three people from an SUV that over turned were hospitalized. Will Whelan/Hemet Valley Incidents photo
City of Hemet Police and Fire Departments along with other emergency first responders were dispatched to the accident just after 4 p.m., after receiving reports of a rollover traffic collision. 911 callers reported there were three people, including an infant, trapped inside an SUV that overturned after it was struck by another vehicle in the intersection.
When officials arrived at the scene they found two wrecked vehicles, described as a cream-colored Mini Cooper and a white Ford Explorer at the intersection. Both vehicles had sustained major damage and after overturning, the Ford ended back on its wheels.
Officials found vehicle parts and debris strewn about the intersection and roadway, but by the time medical personnel arrived all four victims had self-extricated from the two wrecked vehicles.
While paramedics evaluated and treated the vehicle’s occupants, police officers investigated the cause of the crash and worked to clear the destroyed vehicles from the intersection. AMR medics eventually transported three people from the overturned SUV to Hemet Valley Hospital for further evaluation and treatment. The driver of the Mini was reportedly “shaken up” but otherwise “OK.”
According to witnesses at the scene, just before the crash the Mini had been traveling northbound on Sanderson Avenue and the Ford had been traveling south. As the Mini made a left turn from Sanderson Avenue onto Mustang Way, the driver of the Ford sped up and “tried to beat the light” causing the two vehicles to collide in the intersection.
The impact between the two vehicles caused the Ford to careen out of control and it hit the raised curb and overturned; first landing on its roof before rolling back onto its wheels.
Hemet PD is investigating the accident and their investigation is ongoing.
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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.
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.