Private Ambulance Destroyed In Crash, 1 Dies, 2 Hurt In RivCo: CHP

LAKE MATHEWS, CA —A private ambulance collision Saturday left one woman dead, two others injured, just north of Lake Mathews. California Highway Patrol is still investigating the cause of the rollover crash.

Grace Porretta, 90, a resident of Perris, died soon after the accident Saturday morning on El Sobrante Road, less than a quarter-mile east of Willow Drive, according to the California Highway Patrol.

"Porretta was a patient being transported inside the private ambulance heading to a Riverside hospital when the crash occurred," according to CHP Officer Javier Navarro.

Details from the scene show AMR owned the private ambulance.

"The ambulance was heading west on El Sobrante," Navarro said. "For reasons still under investigation, the vehicle left the roadway and struck a tree." Photos from the scene show the ambulance landed on its side.

Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department crews reached the scene of the crash minutes later, where they found Porretta in grave condition.

Meanwhile, the ambulance driver and another attendant suffered minor injuries, according to a statement from Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

Navarro said a second ambulance arrived, and medics retrieved the patients, taking all three to Riverside Community Hospital.

"All three injured patients were taken to a nearby hospital, one patient suffered major injuries, while two others sustained minor injuries," Cal Fire spokesperson Terra Fernadez confirmed.

According to Fernandez, firefighters spent roughly 30 minutes at the scene. No other information was immediately available, as CHP officers took over the investigation.

Porretta died at the Riverside Community Hospital roughly an hour and a half after the crash, authorities said. Both medics with the ambulance were treated at the hospital and were later released, according to the CHP.

The CHP is asking anyone who may have witnessed the crash or may have any other information relevant to the investigation to contact the agency's Riverside office at 951-324-7210.