Three injured, one airlifted in critical condition, after Hemet head-on crash

HEMET — Three people were injured in a two vehicle, head-on wreck Thursday afternoon, Oct. 18. All three victims, including a 75-year-old Hemet resident who was trapped inside her wrecked SUV and later airlifted in critical condition, were seriously injured in the wreck

The major-injury crash happened on Florida Ave., between Lake St. and New Chicago Ave., according to Hemet PD.

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City of Hemet Police and Fire Departments, along with other emergency personnel, were dispatched to the scene of the crash about 12:40 p.m., after receiving multiple reports of the collision, Hemet Police Lt. Eric Dickson explained after the accident. 911 callers reported there were three seriously injured victims and that one of the drivers was trapped inside her wrecked vehicle.

When officials arrived they found a gold Lincoln Town car in the roadway and a white Ford SUV in a nearby dirt field, north of Florida Ave. and west of Lake St.

Several witnesses, area residents, and good Samaritans were at the scene providing aid and comfort to the three injured victims, including an elderly couple who were helping direct traffic around the destroyed vehicles.

Both vehicles had sustained major front-end damage and officials quickly determined the driver of the SUV was trapped inside the mangled wreckage of her vehicle.

Based on injuries sustained by the trapped driver of the Ford, officials at the scene requested an air ambulance to the location and a Mercy Air Ambulance was soon launched and headed to the area.

Firefighters performed a cut and rescue operation and eventually extricated the injured woman, described by Dickson as a 75-year-old Hemet-area resident, from the SUV. After a Mercy helicopter arrived and landed in a small grassy field at the Hemet Church of the Nazarene, the woman was loaded onto the air ambulance and flown to an area hospital. According to Dickson, she was listed in critical condition.

A passenger from the woman’s SUV and the driver of the Lincoln, described by Dickson as a 74-year-old Hemet-area resident, were transported by ground ambulance to area hospitals

During their preliminary investigation officers determined the Ford SUV was traveling west in the number two lane of Florida Ave. approaching Lake St. just before the accident. At the same time, the Lincoln was traveling east on Florida Ave., preparing to turn left onto northbound Lake St.

Without waiting for the Ford to pass, the driver of the Lincoln then turned left, directly in front of the Ford, and the two vehicles collided nearly head-on collision. The impact sent the SUV careening off the roadway and into the dirt field.

While officials worked at the scene they called for the temporary closure of the westbound lanes of Florida Ave., from New Chicago Ave. to Lake St. The roadway was reopened about two hours later.

According to Dickson, DUI is not suspected to be a contributing factor in the collision; however, the investigation is ongoing and no further information will be released at this time.

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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 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 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 14 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.