Driver, 87, dead after fiery Riverside wreck
RIVERSIDE — An elderly man left critically injured and trapped inside his wrecked vehicle after it smashed head-on into a concrete pillar later died from his injuries, after good Samaritans and officers pulled the victim from the burning wreckage of his sedan, Tuesday afternoon, Oct. 15.
The deadly crash, which injured a teen who heard the accident and tried to pull the critically injured driver from his vehicle, happened on Chicago Ave. near Spruce St., beneath the 215 Freeway overpass, in Riverside.
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City of Riverside Police and Fire personnel, along with AMR medics were dispatched to the scene of the crash around 12:48 p.m., after receiving reports of a car that had smashed into a concrete pole and burst into flames, Riverside Police Officer Vicente De La Torre later reported.
When officers arrived they found 18-year-old, Sergio Avina and other witnesses attempting to pull the injured driver from his wrecked and burning sedan. Officers immediately jumped in to help the good Samaritans rescue the man from his vehicle, later described by police officials as a Toyota Avalon.
A firefighter works to extinguish a blaze that destroyed a vehicle that crashed into a concrete pillar and burst into flames on Spruce St. in Riverside. An elderly Colton resident died several hours after the fatal accident. Brian Rokos/Press Enterprise photo
Shortly after freeing the critically injured driver from the car, flames from the engine reached the passenger compartment and soon consumed the vehicle, destroying it.
The driver was rushed to Riverside Community Hospital with critical injuries where, despite life-saving efforts and undergoing emergency surgery, the man succumbed to his injuries and passed away several hours later.
Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner officials have since identified Amos Eubanks as the victim who perished in the crash. A coroner’s release indicated the man was pronounced deceased by hospital staff at 6:20 p.m.
Based on the circumstances, officers from Riverside Police Department’s Major Accident Investigation Team were called to the scene and assumed the investigation.
Based on witness statements and evidence at the scene of the deadly crash, officers determined that just before the fatal crash, the Toyota was traveling northbound on Chicago Ave. “when the vehicle drifted off the road and collided with a concrete pole,” Riverside PD officials later reported.
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During their investigation, one of those interviewed was Avina who told officers he was walking home from school when he heard the crash and saw Eubank’s wrecked and burning vehicle and realized the elderly victim was trapped inside the burning vehicle.
Although Avina and others who stopped to help could not pull the driver’s side door open, Avina began punching and kicking the car’s window, bloodying his hand and elbow in the process, according to a Press Enterprise report after the accident.
He finally managed to kick the window open, at which time officers helped him and others free the driver from the car. Moments later, flames swept into the passenger compartment where the driver had just been trapped.
Avina was later treated at the scene for injuries he sustained while freeing Eubanks from the mangled wreckage of his vehicle.
Riverside PD’s investigation is ongoing and officials have asked that anyone who witnessed the deadly accident and has not yet provided a statement to contact Riverside Police Traffic Detective Derouin at (951)826-8722. Callers can remain anonymous.
Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 48, 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 or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, (the now defunct) Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; 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 29 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.
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