1 Dead, 2 Hospitalized In Cabazon Rollover Crash

CABAZON, CA — One person died in a crash in the Cabazon area Tuesday morning and two others were hospitalized after both vehicles rolled off the freeway, trapping multiple people, the California Highway Patrol reports.

The wreck was first reported at 10:08 a.m. along the eastbound side of the freeway, just east of Main Street.

The CHP, the Riverside County Fire Department and Morongo firefighters responded to find a truck and a sedan involved in the collision. Both rolled over and off the freeway onto Railroad Avenue, which runs parallel to the freeway. The the fire department says "extensive extrication" was required.

A 51-year-old Torrance man in a 2008 Mercury Marquis was weaving in and out of traffic when he swerved into a Ford F-150 in another lane, California Highway Patrol Officer Darren Meyer later said. The back of the Mercury struck the front of the Ford pickup, causing the drivers to lose control of their vehicles, which both slid sideways toward the right-hand shoulder.

"Both vehicles began to slide sideways, out of control, towards the south road edge of I-10," Meyer said in a news release. "The vehicles careened down a dirt embankment, south of I-10 and through the freeway perimeter fence."

The driver of the Ford, a 56-year-old man from Albuquerque, New Mexico, was trapped in the pickup and died of his injuries at the scene, Meyer said. His name was not immediately released.

The Ford's sole passenger, a 43-year-old woman, also from Albuquerque, was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center with moderate injuries.

The Mercury driver was treated for minor injuries at San Gorgonio Memorial Hospital in Banning.

Meyer said the CHP is investigating what may have caused the crash.

— City News Service contributed to this report