Woman hospitalized after SR-74 rollover
CORRECTION: An early version of this report’s title listed SR-79 as the crash location. The correct Highway was SR-74, as explained within the report.
HEMET, Calif. — A woman was injured after a solo-vehicle rollover traffic accident that sheared a power pole, threatening to leave the mountain community of Idyllwild without power for several hours Sunday afternoon, Sept. 20.
The accident, which sent the victim to an area hospital with leg injuries, happened east of Hemet on SR-74, east of Bee Canyon.
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CHP and Riverside County Sheriff’s deputies, along with Cal Fire-Riverside, Soboba Fire, US Forest Service and AMR personnel, were dispatched to the scene around 3:23 p.m., after receiving reports of a single-vehicle rollover traffic accident, according to a CHP incident log.
911 callers reported the vehicle ended up on its roof and that the female driver and sole occupant of the sedan was possibly trapped inside her overturned car.
A woman was hospitalized after a crash that sheared a power pole and launched her vehicle’s engine across the highway and 50 feet down an embankment on the other side of the road. Robert Carter/Public Safety Incidents photo
When firefighters arrived they reported finding a white Toyota sedan on its roof and updated that the injured driver had managed to crawl from her overturned vehicle.
The car’s engine, which was torn from the vehicle when the sedan struck the power pole and overturned, was later found on the other side of the highway about 50 feet down an embankment.
Officials also found an Edison power pole that had been sheared at its base. CHP updated that although the power pole was sheared, the lines were still attached and they were going to try to keep the lines energized; reporting that if the lines were de-energized it would cause Idyllwild residents to lose electricity for several hours.
AMR transported the woman to Riverside University Health System in Moreno Valley for treatment of her injuries. Her current condition was not known as of this report.
During their subsequent investigation, the driver told officers and others that she had been trying to pass a slower moving vehicle along the winding, two-lane mountain roadway when she lost control of her vehicle and crashed.
While officials worked at the scene Cal Fire called for the full closure of the highway, to allow the overturned vehicle to be righted and towed from the area.
USFS and other fire personnel assisted with traffic control while the highway was closed. The roadway was re-opened once the vehicle was recovered.
CHP’s investigation into the cause of the accident is continuing.
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Robert Carter/Public Safety Incidents photos above, video below.
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Contact the writer: [email protected]
Trevor Montgomery, 49, 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 30 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 18 grandchildren.
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