Baby found in arms of deceased parent after I-80 wrong-way crash kills 2 adults, 2 children
CRYSTAL LAKE, Calif. — Authorities say two children and two adults from one vehicle were killed when a wrong-way driver plowed into their vehicle early this morning, Saturday, Nov. 20. California Highway Patrol has since reported that the sole-surviving victim from that car, a baby found held in the arms of one of the deceased adult victims, was airlifted to a hospital in Nevada. Two other people, including the wrong-way driver, were hospitalized after the collision.
CHP says DUI is suspected, but not yet confirmed, in the fatal three-vehicle accident, which happened on Interstate 80 northwest of Lake Tahoe near Eagle Lakes Road, between Yuba Pass and Big Bend.
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CHP – Gold Run officers were first alerted to the wrong-way driver around 4:45 a.m. after another motorist called 911 and reported the danger, CHP Sergeant Steve Casetta reported after the fatal collision. Just minutes later, CHP received another call reporting a three-vehicle head-on crash involving the wrong-way vehicle.
Officers and other emergency personnel who were dispatched to the scene found three involved vehicles with a total of seven occupants.
Four of the victims from one vehicle, including two adults and two children who were younger than 10-years-old, ultimately succumbed to their injuries and were pronounced deceased at the scene.
A fifth victim from that vehicle, described by Casetta only as a baby, was found being held in the arms of one of the deceased adults. The child was airlifted to a hospital in Nevada with unspecified injuries, according to the Sergeant.
Casetta did not specify if the surviving-child was in the arms of their parent when the collision occurred, or if the baby was pulled into the dying parent’s arms after the crash.
“Alcohol may have been a factor in the wrong-way driver,” Casetta went on to say; adding, “It’s a little too early to tell but that’s the assumption.”
The cause of this morning’s fatal accident, and whether or not the wrong-way driver was over the legal limit, remains under investigation.
Eastbound I-80 was closed at Highway 20 for several hours while officials worked at the scene but was reopened around noon.
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Trevor Montgomery, 50, 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.
Omfg. That is just SO AWFUL!!!! My thoughts and prayers are with their loved ones and the the poor baby who just lost their entire family:(
I HATE drunk drivers!!!!!!