Minor injuries reported after 299E crash near Bella Vista

BELLA VISTA — CHP is investigating a minor injury, solo-vehicle crash that happened in the 23000 block of SR-299E, about a half-mile from Woodman Ln., according to a CHP incident log and witnesses.

LEADING THE SCNS HEADLINES:

Cottonwood felon found with stolen truck and gun arrested

Parolee arrested after stabbing woman along Sacramento River Trail

Cap’n Crunch cereal box doggie “Razz Berry” gets second chance at forever family

CHP, Cal Fire, and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the accident around 4:15 p.m., after receiving reports of a U-Haul box truck that had crashed. Callers described that as the large box truck began to lose control the driver over-corrected and the large vehicle almost overturned before careening off the two-lane mountain road. The truck then went about 50 feet off the roadway, before crashing into a large boulder, the CHP log indicated.

911 callers who pulled over at the scene to help also reported seeing a woman and several children climbing from the vehicle. Other callers reported seeing a good Samaritan who had stopped to help holding a juvenile female who appeared injured and was not moving.

Numerous emergency responders were dispatched to the scene of a crash involving a U-Haul box truck that careened off the road and crashed into a large boulder. Photo submitted by an SCNS reader

When officials arrived they found a 16 to 20 foot commercial U-Haul rental box truck with front-end damage. Evidence at the scene and witness statements indicated the eastbound vehicle had left the south side of the roadway before smashing head-on into a large boulder.

Official radio traffic and sources from the scene indicate the woman driving at the time of the crash reported possibly dozing off while driving, which may have led to the crash. Another witness reported there were four people inside the rental vehicle; including a husband, wife, and two children. That witness reported the male was driving when he fell asleep at the wheel. However, neither of those facts have yet to be confirmed and CHP’s investigation into the cause of the wreck is still in it’s early stages and ongoing.

While officials worked at the scene, numerous emergency vehicles lined the south side of the highway, and some area motorists and commuters reported minor back ups and delays through the area as traffic slowly worked its way past the active accident scene.

A tow truck was later requested to pull the box truck back to the roadway and remove the damaged vehicle from the area.

CHP later reported only minor injuries were sustained by the victims, but it was not immediately known how many total victims were inside the truck when it crashed.

Witnesses reported that at least two of the victims, the wife and one of the girls, were ultimately transported to area hospitals for further treatment.

---

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.