High Speed, No Seat Belt, Cited In Fatal Hemet Crash

HEMET, CA — A 23-year-old driver who was allegedly speeding and not wearing a seatbelt, died after he lost control of his car and smashed into oncoming traffic Thursday night in Hemet, according to a preliminary police report.

Samuel Ramirez of Moreno Valley was pronounced dead at Riverside University Health System Medical Center late Thursday, the coroner's bureau reported.

The preliminary Hemet Police Department report showed that at approximately 10 p.m. Thursday, Ramirez was driving a silver Honda Accord westbound on Stetson Avenue, just west of Kirby Street, at a "high rate of speed" when he lost control of the vehicle and skidded sideways into oncoming traffic.

A blue Mazda CX3 broadsided the passenger side of the Honda Accord, according to the report.

Ramirez "did not appear to be wearing a seat belt. Drugs/alcohol are not suspected at this time, however excessive speed does appear to be a factor in this collision," police said.

Ramirez was the only occupant in the Honda. The Mazda driver, who was also a solo occupant, was transported to a hospital for minor injuries and cooperated with the investigation, police said.

The eastbound and westbound lanes of Stetson Avenue, between Sanderson Avenue and Kirby Street, were closed for approximately five hours during the crash investigation.

Anyone who witnessed the crash or has any information for traffic investigators is asked to contact Traffic Corporal Nicot at 951-765-2400 and reference file number 2024-03248.