Man arrested for DUI after wrong-way 91 Freeway crash in Riverside injures five people, three critically

February 6, 2022 Trevor Montgomery

RIVERSIDE, Calif., — Despite multiple 911 calls reporting a wrong-way driver on the 91 Freeway early this morning, officials were not able to get ahead of or stop the vehicle before it crashed head-on into another vehicle in Riverside Sunday, Feb. 6.

The wrong-way driver was arrested at the scene and later booked into jail on DUI charges related to the crash, which happened in the westbound HOV lane near the La Sierra exit in Riverside, and left five people injured and hospitalized.

LEADING THE RCNS HEADLINES:
Local resident, 21, dead after solo-vehicle Riverside crash
UPDATE: DUI and excessive speed cited in Lake Elsinore crash that killed Murrieta man
Years-old Hemet missing person case turned homicide investigation leads to boyfriend’s arrest
Temecula teacher fired, husband placed on leave from City job, after video of racist rant goes viral
Teen arrested after dangerous Corona to Riverside stolen vehicle pursuit leaves trail of wrecked cars
Hemet theft investigation leads to pair of felons’ arrests – Firearms, ammo and banned magazines seized

Although officials have not yet released any information regarding the collision, a CHP incident log and various on-scene sources indicate that at around 1:30 a.m. California Highway Patrol’s Inland Division dispatch started receiving numerous calls regarding a wrong-way driver who was traveling east in westbound lanes in a silver Honda van.

A CHP incident log at the time indicated the driver may have entered the freeway at Main Street in Corona and was driving wrong way in the HOV lane east of the 15 Freeway. 911 callers reported multiple near-misses with the wrong-way driver, with witnesses describing being forced to swerve out of the way of the oncoming Honda.

Officials work to free the critically injured occupants of a Lexus that a wrong-way driver in a Honda van struck while traveling west in the eastbound 91 Freeway HOV lanes in Riverside early this morning. Johnny Lopez/Lone wolf News and Media photo

As calls continued pouring in reporting additional near-misses, and as CHP officers, Riverside police officers and local sheriff’s deputies were trying to catch up with the wrong-way driver, they received updated reports from a sheriff’s deputy that the wrong-way vehicle had crashed head-on into another vehicle near Castle Park.

When CHP and Riverside Fire personnel arrived at the scene of the collision they found two involved vehicles, including the Honda and a vehicle described as a white Lexus Q50, both of which had sustained major front-end damage.

Firefighters found three people critically injured and trapped inside one of the vehicles and found an additional two trapped and injured victims in the second vehicle and began a cut and rescue operation to free the five victims from their wrecked cars.

After being freed from their wrecked vehicles, four of the victims were transported by ground ambulances to area hospitals. One of the transported victim’s injuries were described as moderate while the other three victims’ injuries were described as critical.

An alleged drunk driver, 25-year-old Mariano Castillo Baltazar, was arrested at the scene of this morning’s major injury head-on collision. Johnny Lopez/Lone wolf News and Media photo

Video filmed at the scene by Lone Wolf News and Media showed a handcuffed man, since identified as 25-year-old Mariano Castillo Baltazar, being placed into a CHP vehicle.

After being treated at an area hospital for his minor injuries, he was later booked into the Robert Presley Detention Center in Riverside on suspicion of DUI and DUI resulting in great bodily injuries.

SEE ALSO: RCNS EXCLUSIVE: Grieving family calls for justice after felon’s second fatal DUI crash kills Nuevo woman, 65

Online jail records indicate he remains in custody in lieu of $50,000 bail or bond and is scheduled to be arraigned at the Riverside Hall of Justice on Feb. 9th.

CHP has not yet released any official details regarding this collision and their accident investigation is ongoing.

Click any image to open full-size gallery.

Lone wolf News and Media photos above, video below.

native advertising

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.