MORENO VALLEY: Three injured, one critically, after solo-vehicle, DUI crash

MORENO VALLEY — Three men were injured, including one who is in a coma and listed in critical condition, when their speeding vehicle left the roadway and smashed into a tree earlier this morning. Alcohol intoxication is suspected in the major injury crash that happened on the border of Riverside and Moreno Valley.

According to officials, two Moreno Valley residents and one Riverside resident were inside the vehicle when the single-vehicle crash occurred.

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Deputies assigned to the Moreno Valley Police Department and other emergency first responders were dispatched to Old 215 Frontage Road, just south of Dracaea Avenue, about 2:18 a.m., after receiving reports of a major injury traffic collision, according to Riverside PD.

When deputies and firefighters arrived they found a wrecked, light blue, Toyota mini van that crashed sideways into a tree.

While firefighters worked to extricate the victims from the vehicle deputies determined the accident began in Riverside and ended in Moreno Valley. Based on where the accident began, members of Riverside PD’s Major Accident Investigation Team responded to the scene and assumed the investigation.

During their initial investigation M.A.I.T. officials determined the driver of the mini van, who has not yet been publicly identified, was traveling southbound on Old 215 Frontage Rd. in the City of Riverside at high-speed when he lost control of his vehicle and left the roadway.

The driver over-corrected, causing the mini van to careen back onto the road. The mini van then began sliding sideways for several hundred feet – until the driver’s side of the Toyota plowed into a tree along the west side of the road.

The driver and one of the passengers – who are both Moreno Valley residents – are expected to survive, according to Riverside police officials. The other male passenger from Riverside sustained major, life-threatening head injuries and remains hospitalized in intensive care and is listed in critical condition.

Alcohol intoxication is believed to be a contributing factor in the accident, according to Riverside PD, who explained in a press release that the man was arrested and will be booked into jail after receiving treatment for his injuries and being medically cleared.

William Hayes/OC Hawk News photos

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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.