Serious injuries reported after Lake Elsinore rollover hit and run

LAKE ELSINORE, Calif., — Two people were seriously injured, including one who was airlifted to an area trauma center, after a two-vehicle hit and run collision with rollover and entrapment in Lake Elsinore last night, Wednesday, Jan. 5. The accident happened near the intersection of Grand Avenue and Jamieson Way, just east of the Riverside Drive/Hwy 74 bend at Grand Avenue.

Surveillance video filmed from a nearby liquor store that was later shared to social media appeared to show that a pickup truck was traveling on the wrong side of the road into oncoming traffic and may have been passing a slower moving vehicle against a double yellow line when its driver jerked back into the proper lane of travel.

The unexpected and sudden turning movement caused the pickup to sideswipe a minivan, causing both vehicles to careen off the roadway; where the minivan overturned into a pole and the pickup crashed into a second pole and vehicle parked outside the liquor store.

LEADING THE RCNS HEADLINES:

Young bicycle rider fatally struck by truck in San Jacinto

Two dead, one airlifted, after off-road vehicle crash in Riverside

I-15 reopened after pedestrian makes fatal leap in front of oncoming big rig

Suicidal and caught breaking into Wildomar home, rifle-wielding man fatally shot by deputy

Wanted RivCo felon who rammed police vehicles, trapped deputy underneath truck, fatally shot

Deputies from the Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the scene around 9:20 p.m. after receiving reports of a major injury, two-vehicle rollover accident, Cal Fire – Riverside has since reported.

When officials arrived, they located three involved vehicles, described as a white Dodge Ram pickup truck, white Toyota Sienna minivan, and silver Honda SUV. Two of the vehicles sustained major damage and were later towed from the scene.

Surveillance video from a nearby liquor store captured the exact moment that a pickup truck swerved into a minivan, causing both vehicles to crash into separate poles outside the business. The video also showed two men fleeing the scene of the crash. Del Lago Liquor Mart images

Firefighter/paramedics immediately began evaluating and treating the victims of the collision, including two occupants from the involved minivan who were left trapped and seriously injured in their overturned vehicle.

After extricating the trapped victims, one was airlifted by a REACH Air Ambulance to an area trauma center while the other victim was transported by ground ambulance for further treatment.

Video filmed from a nearby liquor store captured the exact moment of the terrifying crash, and also captured two men exiting the truck that caused the collision and fleeing the scene in opposite directions. Several witnesses who came from the liquor store as well as a food vending truck in the same parking lot also managed to capture the suspects fleeing the scene on their cellular phones.

Although officials were later seen conducting interviews in the liquor store’s parking lot, it was not immediately clear if the driver who caused the crash and fled the scene was located that evening.

Two men were captured on surveillance video fleeing the scene of a major injury traffic collision in Lake Elsinore last night. Del Lago Liquor Mart images

The sheriff’s investigation is continuing and anyone with further information or who knows the identity and or whereabouts of either of the two men seen fleeing last night’s collision is encouraged to contact the Lake Elsinore Sheriff’s Station at (951) 245-3300.

Click any image to open full-size gallery.

Rivco News photos

Contact the writer: [email protected]

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.

tagged with , , , , , ,