DESERT CENTER: Four dead, three injured, in three separate overnight accidents
DESERT CENTER — Four people died and three people were injured in three separate overnight accidents in the unincorporated community of Desert Center. One of those killed was a pedestrian walking along Interstate 10 and another died after being ejected and crushed underneath a vehicle that overturned.
LEADING THE RCNS HEADLINES:
BREAKING: Four people injured after family dispute leads to Gavilan Hills shooting
HEMET: Injured hiker airlifted from Ramona Bowl area trail during dramatic rescue
The first fatal accident happened Friday night, June 29, shortly after 9:30 p.m.
California Highway Patrol, Riverside and San Bernardino County Fire Departments, and other emergency first responders were dispatched to the area of Highway 62 and Highway 177, after receiving reports of a head-on wreck involving two vehicle.
“Firefighters arrived at the scene and reported a two vehicle traffic collision with significant front-end damage to both vehicles,” Riverside County Fire spokesperson April Newman explained after the incident.
“Two patients perished at the scene and were trapped; one inside each vehicle,” Newman explained.
Two additional victims – one in each of the vehicles – were also trapped and required extrication.
Based on the severity of the surviving victims’ injuries, fire officials requested two air ambulances respond the scene.
A short time later, two Careflight Air Ambulances arrived in the area and eventually airlifted the two victims to an area hospital.
Officials have not yet released the names of the two deceased victims, pending notification of their families.
The second fatal accident happened about two hours later, on eastbound Interstate 10, west of Rice Road.
Emergency first responders were dispatched to the scene just before 11:20 p.m., after receiving reports of a solo-vehicle, rollover traffic collision involving a large cargo van. 911 callers told emergency dispatchers that one of the victims was able to self-extricate from the wrecked vehicle, but callers reported that a second victim was trapped underneath the van.
When officials arrived they immediately began rescue efforts for the person trapped under the vehicle. Based on the victim’s traumatic injuries, firefighters summoned a Mercy Air Ambulance to the scene, according to Newman.
Shortly after midnight, Newman updated that the trapped victim succumbed to their injuries at the scene and that firefighters had cancelled the air ambulance. The other victim was transported by ground ambulance to an area hospital with minor injuries.
The last fatal accident happened about 6:30 a.m., on eastbound Interstate 10, west of Eagle Mountain Rd, according to Newman. The accident involved a man who was hit by a motorist while walking on the highway.
When officials arrived they found the critically injured victim in the number two lane of the freeway. Based on the man’s injuries, officials requested a Mercy Air Ambulance respond to the scene.
About one hour later, Newman updated that due to the extent of the victim’s injuries, officials at the scene had cancelled the air ambulance and advised that the victim, who has not been identified, was transported by ground ambulance to an area hospital.
The victim succumbed to his injuries after arriving at the hospital and he was pronounced deceased by medical personnel.
While officials conducted their initial on-scene investigation, they called for the temporary closure of the number two lane on I-10. The lane was re-opened more than two hours later.
CHP is investigating all three fatal collisions and their investigations are active and ongoing.
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 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.