Two hospitalized after vehicle overturns off I-10 in Banning
BANNING — A man and woman headed to a Banning middle school to pick up their daughter were hospitalized after their vehicle hit the center divider, spun out, and overturned down a steep embankment in Banning yesterday afternoon, Wednesday, May 22. Yesterday’s crash, which resulted in one victim suffering major injuries, happened just before the 22nd St. off ramp on Interstate 10.
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CHP, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department, and AMR were dispatched to the scene about 12:50 p.m., after receiving reports of an eastbound vehicle that careened off the freeway and rolled about 50 feet down a steep embankment, where it crashed into several trees as it overturned.
When officials arrived, they found a white Chrysler Sebring upside down, amidst numerous trees. A woman who had been inside the car when it wrecked had managed to pull herself from the overturned vehicle; however, a man was still trapped inside the upside down and heavily damaged sedan.
A man had to be extricated from his vehicle after it hit the center divider, careened off Interstate 10, and overturned down a steep embankment near 22nd St. EN3 News photo
As firefighters worked in the pouring rain to extricate the seriously injured man from the Chrysler, paramedics began evaluating and treating the woman’s injuries.
Both victims were eventually transported by ground ambulance to Desert Regional Medical Center’s trauma center in Palm Springs. The woman’s injuries were described as minor, while the man’s injuries were described as major.
Because of heavy rainfall caused by a storm system that moved through the San Gorgonio pass area yesterday afternoon, the overturned vehicle was left at the scene, to be picked up by a wrecker the next day.
Yesterday’s storms dumped heavy rain and hail along with lightning and thunder, while flooding many area roads throughout the Inland Empire. In an unrelated incident, a security guard was struck by lightning at a Beaumont middle school yesterday afternoon, just as classes were to be released for the day. That victim was rushed to an area hospital in stable condition and is recovering.
CHP is investigating the crash and their accident investigation is ongoing.
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EN3 News photos
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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.