Minor injuries after 3-vehicle, rollover Menifee crash

MENIFEE — Authorities are investigating a chain reaction, rollover traffic collision that happened in Menifee this morning, Friday, Jan 5. The minor-injury crash, which left one vehicle upside down on its roof and sent one person to the hospital, happened at the intersection of Newport and Evans roads.

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Deputies assigned to Menifee PD, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire, and other emergency personnel, were dispatched to the accident around 7:30 a.m., after receiving reports of three vehicles that had collided at the intersection. 911 callers reported one of the vehicles, described as a light-colored mini-van had overturned. The other two vehicles, described as dark-colored sedans were also involved in the pileup and rollover.

When officials arrived they found three damaged vehicles with vehicle parts and debris scattered in and around the intersection. All three drivers of the wrecked vehicles were out of their cars and the first ambulance crew to arrive at the scene immediately began evaluating and treating the three victims.

One of the drivers was eventually transported to an area hospital for further treatment with injuries that were described as minor. The other two drivers had complaints of pain, and one of the sedan drivers described being slightly burned when their airbags deployed, but both declined further medical treatment at the scene.

Menifee resident Amy Webb, who resides near where the collision happened, heard the accident and ran to the scene to check on the occupants of the vehicles. By the time she arrived some officials were already at the scene, while others were still arriving.

In a live-stream shared to Facebook, Webb spoke with at least two of the involved drivers as well as other motorists who witnessed the crash. (See Webb’s live-stream from the scene below.)

The driver of the vehicle that overturned told Webb at the scene that the accident happened while he was traveling northbound on Evans Road and the light at Newport Rd. began to change. The man, who did not provide his name, said he tried to slow down before the light changed but was unable to and he entered the intersection just as the light was turning red.

As he passed through the intersection, a sedan that was facing east on Newport Rd. began to pull forward with a green light, at which time the front of their sedan clipped the back corner of the man’s van, causing it to overturn and hit another sedan that had been facing south on Evans Rd., while waiting to make a left turn onto Newport Rd.

Evidence at the scene after the collision was consistent with the interviewed man’s account of how the accident occurred, but deputies are still investigating the cause of the crash.

The vehicles were eventually towed or driven from the scene and the intersection remained partially blocked, but open, and no significant delays in travel times were reported.

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Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year 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 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.