Trio of SR-299E crashes in Bella Vista strain emergency resources

BELLA VISTA, Calif. — Authorities are continuing to investigate a trio of accidents that happened within miles of each other on SR-299E in the Bella Vista area, Friday evening, Oct. 23.

The winding, two-lane mountain roadway has been the scene of multiple recent major injury and fatal collisions, including a deadly, two vehicle, head-on crash east of Moose Camp Rd., just one week earlier, last Friday, Oct. 16. That crash, which was reportedly caused by a reckless driver passing slower moving vehicles against the double yellow lines left a Montgomery Creek man and his dog dead.

The first of Friday’s wrecks, a solo-vehicle motorcycle accident, was reported near Sugar Pine Camp Rd., southwest of Ingot; followed just 45 minutes later by a fiery, head-on wreck between a pickup truck and passenger vehicle near Du Bois Rd, just west of Oak Run Rd. The third, two-vehicle, head-on collision happened about two hours later, at Lavona Ln., west of Intermountain Rd.

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CHP, Cal Fire – Shasta, and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the motorcycle crash around 4:45 p.m., according to a CHP incident log and official radio traffic at the time.

The 911 caller who happened upon the scene of the crash moments after it happened reported seeing dust in the air just before finding a motorcycle rider down on the side of the highway near Sugar Pine Camp Rd.

The first arriving officer reported finding a Harley Davidson type motorcycle about 50 feet down an embankment and requested a tow truck to recover the wrecked motorcycle.

No information regarding the motorcycle rider’s condition was immediately available.

Authorities are continuing to investigate three crashes that happened within miles of each other along SR-299E in the Bella Vista area Friday evening. Anonymously submitted photos

At around 5:30 p.m., while officials were still working at the scene of that crash, a fiery, two-vehicle, head-on wreck was reported less than five miles away, just west of Oak Run Rd.

Multiple witnesses called 911, including one person who reported that one of the two vehicles, described as a large red pickup truck, overturned into their yard and had caught fire. Callers reported that the second vehicle, described as a light blue Subaru, sustained heavy front-end damage and was left blocking the highway.

When the first officer arrived at the scene he confirmed the overturned and heavily-damaged pickup truck was on fire and reported that he was trying to control the fire until firefighters could arrive at the scene.

Both wrecked vehicles were later towed from the scene, and no information regarding how many victims were involved or their conditions was immediately available.

SEE RELATED: UPDATE: Montgomery Creek man killed in SR-299E crash ID’d

The third, two-vehicle, head-on crash was reported around 7:40 p.m., at Lavona Ln.

911 callers reported the crash involved a red Chevy pickup truck and red Hyundai, and told emergency dispatchers that the truck was passing slower moving vehicles against the solid, double yellow lines when it struck the Hyundai as it was making a turn.

The collision left both vehicles heavily damaged and blocking the highway, and knocked down the Lavona Ln. street sign.

Both vehicles were later towed from the scene and County Roads was contacted to replace the street sign.

No information was readily available regarding how many occupants were in the two vehicles or what the extent of their injuries were.

Contacted for more information about the trio of crashes, a CHP representative confirmed all three accidents remain under investigation and said no further information regarding any of the collisions would be available until Monday. 


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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.