DUI, ice-slicked highway, lead to fatal I-5 crash in Siskiyou County
SISKIYOU COUNTY, Calif. — A passenger was killed and a driver was seriously injured when their vehicle lost control and slammed into a tractor-trailer combo that was parked along the southbound Montague Road Interstate 5 onramp early Thursday morning, Jan. 7.
Although CHP has said that temperatures at the time of the crash were in the freezing range and that the highway “may have been slick,” the driver, Irfan Sarwar, was later determined to have been driving while under the influence of alcohol and was arrested on felony charges related to the crash.
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CHP and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene around 1:30 a.m., after receiving reports of a major injury traffic collision involving a passenger vehicle and big rig, CHP – Yreka has since said of the deadly accident.
When officials arrived they found a heavily damaged Toyota Prius with two occupants still inside the vehicle.
“Despite life saving efforts, the passenger of the Toyota succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased at the scene of the collision,” CHP has since reported.
The driver of the Toyota, later identified as Sarwar, was transported by ground ambulance to Fairchild Medical Center for medical treatment. His injuries were described by CHP as major.
SEE SIMILAR: Car rolls multiple times, one ejected, after Siskiyou County I-5 wreck
During their subsequent investigation officers determined Sarwar was driving the Toyota southbound on Interstate 5, south of Montague Road, just before the collision.
Sarwar later told officers he was traveling in the number two lane “at a stated speed of 70-75 mph,” according to CHP; who added, “At the time of the collision, temperatures were in the freezing range and the roadway may have been slick.”
“For an unknown reason, the Toyota veered off the west road edge of southbound Interstate 5 and continued westbound across the Montague Road to southbound Interstate 5 on-ramp,” CHP described.
As the Toyota careened out of control, its passenger side smashed into the side of a Freightliner big rig that was parked along the west shoulder of the Montague Road onramp to southbound I-5.
The rig’s driver had been legally parked and asleep inside the sleeper berth of the big rig when the crash occurred, according to CHP.
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As their investigation continued and officers interviewed Sarwar at Fairchild Medical Center, they determined he was under the influence of alcohol. He was arrested on multiple felony charges, but was subsequently released to the hospital for further treatment of his major injuries.
CHP later used the opportunity to remind motorists to reduce their speed in adverse conditions and/or freezing temperatures and never operate a motor vehicle while under the influence.
This is a developing story that will be updated when new information is available.
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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 KRCR News Channel 7 and Mountain Echo in Shasta County, Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego 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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