MENIFEE: Woman uninjured after driving into drainage culvert
MENIFEE — A woman who crashed into a drainage culvert while driving home walked away uninjured last night. Witnesses and good Samaritans who stopped to help the victim later said the woman was “shaken up, but OK.” According to officials who investigated the single-car crash, the victim possibly misjudged a turn and drove into the ditch, stranding and disabling her car.
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Emergency first responders were dispatched to the intersection of Goetz Rd. and Vista Way after receiving multiple 911 calls reporting a vehicle that drove into a ditch as the driver attempted to make a left turn onto Vista Way.
Deputies assess a damaged vehicle after a driver accidentally drove into a ditch while making a left turn last night. Patrick Brennan photo
When officials arrived they found the woman’s Nissan Rogue in a drainage culvert. The woman and several witnesses were nearby.
AMR medics evaluated the uninjured woman and she declined further medical treatment at the scene.
Area resident Kristin Cole witnessed the solo-vehicle crash and later shared on social media that the victim appeared to have misjudged where Vista Way was when she turned and drove straight into the ditch.
“It happened right in front of me,” Cole explained. “She had her signal on and turned left in front of me and into the ditch.”
“I think she thought that was the street,” Cole continued. “She was stopped, waiting for other traffic and (turned when) there was a break in front of me.”
Even though she missed Vista Way by about 50 yards, Cole wrote, “She meant to turn there.”
The victim’s car, which only sustained minor damage in the slow-speed crash, was later pulled from the ditch and towed from the scene.
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Trevor Montgomery, 47, recently moved to the Intermountain area of 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 his “fluid family” boasts 13 children and 14 – soon to be 16 – grandchildren.