Man, 18, critically injured after truck hits tree, overturns

COTTONWOOD, Calif. — Authorities are investigating the cause of a solo-vehicle rollover crash in Cottonwood that left an 18-year-old man with major injuries early Saturday morning, May 2.

The victim was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected during the crash, which happened on the northbound I-5 off ramp at Gas Point Rd., according to California Highway Patrol.

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CHP and other emergency personnel were alerted to the crash shortly after midnight, after receiving multiple 911 calls reporting a truck that crashed while exiting I-5 at Gas Point Rd.

911 callers reported the truck smashed into a tree and that driver was ejected and critically injured when his vehicle overturned.

When officials arrived at the scene they found a 1995 Ford F-250 flatbed truck that had overturned off the freeway off ramp.

The driver sustained major injuries and was transported by ground ambulance to Mercy Hospital in Redding. His current condition had not been updated and was unknown as of this report.

Officers who investigated the cause of the crash later reported the 18-year-old driver of pickup truck had been traveling northbound on I-5 prior to the collision, according to CHP.

Evidence from the scene indicated that as the driver exited Gas Point Rd., he failed to negotiate a right-hand curve in the roadway causing the truck to leave the west roadway edge of the off ramp.

After careening off the off ramp, the truck collided with a tree and overturned, ejecting the driver from inside the pickup.

The victim had not been wearing a seat belt, according to officers; who are continuing to investigate whether alcohol or drug intoxication were contributing factors in the crash.

Anyone who witnessed this crash and has not yet provided a statement to authorities is encouraged to contact CHP Officer C. Barnes at the Redding area CHP office.

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Trevor Montgomery, 48, moved in 2017 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 16 grandchildren.