Gilman Springs Rd crash takes out power pole, forces hours-long closure
MORENO VALLEY, Calif. — No injuries were reported after a solo-vehicle crash into an Edison power pole in the unincorporated area of Moreno Valley north of San Jacinto yesterday afternoon, Tuesday, June 29.
The accident, which knocked down the power pole and forced the hours-long closure of Gilman Springs Road, happened between Bridge Street and Highway 79.
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California Highway Patrol, CAL FIRE-Riverside, and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the area of Gilman Springs Road adjacent the Scott Bros. Dairy after receiving reports of the single-vehicle crash.
Responding officials found a white Jeep that had crashed into and knocked down a power pole. The pole was left blocking the roadway, which CHP closed for the next six hours while the destroyed pole was removed from the roadway and replaced.
The driver involved in the crash appeared to be uninjured and was later seen walking around while talking with officials. He was evaluated and treated at the scene before declining further medical attention.
Contacted at the scene, an Edison representative said the pole would not be able to be replaced until sometime the next morning, with an estimated time of completion around 6 a.m.
Area resident and regular RCNS contributor Paul Cayot later said the hours-long closure and cleanup process caused major delays in travel times, and left many area motorists and commuters fuming over the lack of adequate traffic control at the scene.
“Several of us citizens took turns helping motorist turn around and get headed back to the west, while on the east side of the crash and blockage CHP got the cars turned around and headed back toward Hemet.”
“The traffic was so bad that by 7 p.m. the traffic was not moving at all going back to the west,” Cayot continued; adding, “It was a total gridlock.”
“The biggest frustration the motorists I spoke with had was that the road was not closed at Bridge street,” Cayot explained. “Consequently, they spent an hour crawling forward a little more than a mile to then have to turn around and crawl back to Bridge street.”
CHP’s investigation into the cause of the accident is continuing.
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Paul Cayot photos
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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 (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS).
Additionally, he writes or has written for several other news organizations; including Riverside County-based newspapers Valley News, Valley Chronicle, Anza Valley Outlook, and Hemet & San Jacinto Chronicle; the Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County; and Mountain Echo in Shasta County. He is also a regular contributor to Thin Blue Line TV and Law Enforcement News Network and has had his stories featured on news stations throughout the Southern California and North State regions.
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.