2 Dead In Badlands Crash After Driver Illegally Passes: CHP

BEAUMONT, CA — Two people were killed instantly and three others injured in a crash on the westbound Moreno Valley (60) Freeway in the Badlands just west of Beaumont, according to the California Highway Patrol. The wreck was first reported at 1:10 p.m. and prompted a full closure of the roadway for more than three hours.

CHP Officer Darren Meyer says the crash was caused by a man in a 1993 Corvette, later identified as 55-year-old Mitchell Finesod of Cathedral City, who was driving westbound on the 60 freeway in the Badlands, about two miles east of Gilman Springs Road.

"Finesod was behind slower moving traffic traveling through the construction zone and was seen illegally passing vehicles on the right shoulder," Meyer said in a news release. "The Corvette driver attempted to pass a big rig ahead of him, again, using the right shoulder in a reckless manner."

When Finesod tried to pass that big rig, though, he clipped it — which spun the Corvette out of control, according to Meyer. The vehicle then hit the center median k-rail and slammed onto a black Jaguar SUV, killing the male driver and a female passenger immediately. Two other people in the SUV were hurt and hospitalized.

After hitting the SUV, the Corvette landed back in the westbound side, Meyer said. That driver was not hurt, and was taken into CHP custody.

The roadway was subsequently closed until around 4:30 p.m. Dozens of motorists were stranded in the backup as emergency crews responded to the scene.

The area where the crash occurred is currently undergoing a major construction project and the westbound side of the highway was already down to just one lane before the wreck.