VALLE VISTA: Pregnant woman injured after “T-Bone” accident sends car spinning in intersection
VALLE VISTA — A pregnant woman was hospitalized after crashing her car into a Jeep earlier this morning. Witnesses at the scene of the wreck stated the impact between the two vehicles sent the small car the woman was driving spinning out of control within the intersection of Highway 74 and New Chicago Avenue.
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California Highway Patrol, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire and AMR were dispatched to the scene of the accident about 9:15 a.m., after other motorists and witnesses called 911 to report the collision.
A pregnant woman suffered minor injuries when she reportedly ran a red light and plowed broadside into a Jeep. Robert Carter/Public Safety Incidents photo
Official radio traffic at the time indicated 911 callers told emergency dispatchers a small red Hyundai sedan ran a red light and plowed broadside into a Jeep Wrangler.
The tremendous impact pitched the Jeep up onto its passenger side wheels – nearly causing the SUV to overturn – and sent the car spinning out of control before coming to rest facing the wrong direction on the highway.
Callers reported that a disabled military veteran in a wheelchair was on scene and coordinating efforts to pull the pregnant and injured driver from her vehicle; which they reported was smoking and leaking fluids onto the roadway.
When officials arrived they found the Hyundai with major front-end damage facing north toward Little Louie’s Cocktail Lounge and blocking the westbound lanes of Hwy 74, just east of New Chicago Ave. A white Jeep with minor driver’s side damage was parked nearby.
The injured driver of the sedan, reported to be in her 20’s, was already out of her Hyundai and laying on a nearby hay bale, away from her wrecked and still smoking car. Witnesses and others were at her side, providing aid and comfort to the distraught woman.
While paramedics tended to the pregnant woman and moved her into a waiting ambulance, CHP moved the damaged vehicle from the highway and investigated the cause of the collision. During their initial on-scene investigation, officers determined that just before the collision the sedan had been traveling westbound on Highway 74 and the white Jeep was traveling southbound on New Chicago Ave.
Witnesses reported to officials that the woman “tried to make the light” before it changed from yellow to red but entered the intersection late and plowed broadside into the Jeep, nearly flipping it and sending the small sedan careening out of control.
It was not immediately known if the pregnant woman driving the sedan was transported for treatment of her injuries, described as minor. The driver of the Jeep was reportedly uninjured in the collision.
CHP’s is investigating the cause of the crash and officers have not released any information at this time.
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Robert Carter/Public Safety Incidents video
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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 several other news organizations, including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook, as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and The Mountain Echo in Shasta 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. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s 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 – soon to be 15 – grandchildren.