Murrieta man, 50, killed in fiery I-15 wreck

MURRIETA — A 50-year-old, Murrieta resident died in a fiery, solo-vehicle crash after his SUV plowed at high-speed into a freeway overpass pillar yesterday morning, Thursday, March 21.

According to CHP, witnesses later reported the victim was possibly trying to pass a tractor-trailer big-rig when he suddenly veered onto the shoulder of the southbound Interstate 15 and plowed into the pillar below the I-215 overpass.

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CHP and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the crash shortly before 11:30 a.m., CHP Officer Mike Lassig later said of the accident. 911 callers reported that after the tremendous impact, the victim’s 2013 Ford Explorer burst into flames.

Other motorists and good Samaritans who stopped and tried to help the mortally injured driver were unable to get close to the SUV, due to the blaze’s intense heat and flames.

When officials arrived, they found the SUV still on fire and witnesses reported the driver never made it out of the burning wreckage.

Firefighters managed to quickly extinguish the blaze, before confirming finding the body of a man inside the still smoldering vehicle, which was left all but unrecognizable by the impact and blaze.

Firefighters and CHP officers did not locate any passengers inside the SUV and later reported that the victim died at the scene. Officials have not yet released the victim’s name, pending further investigation and notification of the man’s family.

CHP called for the closure of multiple southbound lanes, as firefighters and other emergency personnel worked at the scene and officers investigated the cause of the deadly crash. Area residents and commuters reported heavy delays in their travel times.

During their hours-long investigation, CHP interviewed numerous witnesses who reported that just before the fatal crash the unidentified driver had been traveling between 75 and 80 mph, as he neared the freeway overpass.

According to witnesses, as the SUV approached a big-rig traveling in the freeway’s slow lane, the vehicle veered out of the lanes of travel onto the highway’s shoulder. The Ford then slammed into the overpass pillar “at approximately 80 miles per hour without braking,” Lassig later explained.

CHP officials have not yet ruled out intoxication or a medical crisis as possible contributing factors in the crash and their investigation into the cause of the deadly accident is ongoing.

This is a developing story that will be updated as new information is available.

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Joe Fanaselle photos

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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.