Hemet man arrested after Moreno Valley DUI crash with ejection

MORENO VALLEY, Calif. — A passenger was ejected and a driver was seriously injured when an allegedly intoxicated man ran a red light and plowed broadside into the victim’s vehicle in Moreno Valley Tuesday evening, Jan. 19. The driver who caused the collision, who did not have a valid driver’s license, was later arrested for driving under the influence, according to authorities.

The accident happened at the intersection of Cottonwood Avenue and Day Street and forced the hours-long closure of the roads while officials worked at the scene and investigated the cause of the major injury crash.

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Deputies from the Moreno Valley Sheriff’s Station, along with other emergency personnel, were dispatched to the intersection around 7 p.m., after receiving reports of a major injury traffic collision with ejection, Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant R. Grmusha has since reported.

When officials arrived at the scene they found a two-vehicle traffic collision involving a gray BMW and red Nissan.

“The collision caused the front seat passenger of the BMW to be ejected, resulting in major injuries,” said Grmusha; who added the BMW’s driver sustained moderate injuries, which were not considered life-threatening.

The driver of the Nissan, 21-year-old, Marco Antonio Fonseca, of Hemet, had remained at the scene after the crash and was cooperative with the sheriff’s investigation.

Based on the circumstances, members of the Moreno Valley Sheriff’s Traffic Collision Reconstruction Team responded to the location and assumed the investigation.

During their investigation, deputies determined Fonseca was traveling southbound on Day Street at a high rate of speed in his Nissan when he failed to stop at a red light and smashed into the passenger side of the BMW as it traveled westbound on Cottonwood Avenue.

The impact caused the BMW’s passenger to be ejected from the vehicle, where he sustained major injuries.

While interviewing Fonseca, deputies determined he was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs and had been driving without a license and arrested him. He was later booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on suspicion of DUI resulting in great bodily injury and driving without a license.

Online jail records indicate he was released within hours of being booked and is scheduled to be arraigned at the Riverside Hall of Justice on May 24.

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During their investigation, deputies called for the temporary closure of Day Street, between Dracaea Avenue and Brill Road; as well as Cottonwood Avenue, between Glorybower Street and Hildegarde Street.

Anyone with information regarding this incident is encouraged to call Deputy Kevin Seguin of the Moreno Valley Sheriff’s Station at (951) 486-6879 or the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department at (951) 776-1099. Callers can refer to incident file number MV210190307 and can remain anonymous.

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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 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.