Bella Vista man, 69, ID’d after fatal I-5 wrong-way crash that seriously injured Shasta Lake driver
REDDING, Calif., — Authorities say a Bella Vista man was killed when he smashed head-on into another vehicle while traveling the wrong way on Interstate 5, between SR-299E and Twin View Boulevard, Friday evening, June 10.
Two other drivers were involved in the crash, including a City of Shasta Lake woman who was left trapped inside her wrecked vehicle and was hospitalized with serious injuries, according to officials.
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California Highway Patrol – Redding, along with Redding PD and other emergency personnel, were dispatched to the scene around 9:20 p.m. after receiving reports of a major injury, wrong-way traffic collision with entrapment, CHP has since reported.
When officials arrived, they found three involved vehicles described as a 2005 Ford Explorer pickup truck, a 2014 Chevrolet Equinox, both of which sustained heavy front-end damage and came to rest within the northbound lanes of traffic. A 2015 Kenworth tractor-trailer combo that had pulled off the highway and onto the freeway’s shoulder was also found to have been involved.
Officials quickly confirmed that the driver of the Ford suspected of causing the collision had already succumbed to his injuries and passed away, at which time they turned their focus on the critically injured and trapped driver of the Chevy.
Fire and rescue personnel began a cut and rescue operation, eventually freeing Devyn Zeno Lewis, 51, of Shasta Lake, from her wrecked Chevy. Once freed from her vehicle, Devyn was transported to Mercy Medical Center in Redding for further treatment.
CHP has since identified the man who died as a result of the collision as 69-year-old, Randall James Lewis, of Bella Vista.
The driver of the Kenworth, Gurtej Singh Sidhu, 38, of Clovis, was uninjured in the crash and remained at the scene while CHP conducted their initial, on-scene investigation.
CHP has since said that Randall Lewis was driving his Ford the wrong way and was going south in the asphalt-paved center median of the northbound I-5 when he plowed head-on into Devin Lewis’ Chevy, which had been traveling northbound in the number one lane of the freeway. The impact caused Devyn’s SUV to careen into the left side of the Kenworth, whose driver was able to safely pull off the highway after the collisions.
Although officials reported from the scene that Randall Lewis was possibly intoxicated when he was killed in Friday’s crash, CHP has not yet confirmed if alcohol and or drug intoxication were considered to be contributing factors in the fatal collision.
I-5 was closed for several hours while officials worked at the scene and removed the wrecked vehicles from the area, but the roadway reopened early the next morning.
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Trevor Montgomery, 51, moved in 2017 to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and operates Riverside County News Source (RCNS) and Shasta County News Source (SCNS). Both are stringer organizations, providing breaking news coverage and community interest stories for other mainstream media organizations throughout the two regions they serve.
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.