Woman ID'd In Deadly Cabazon Crash

CABAZON, CA — One motorist was killed and two others were hospitalized after they crashed off Interstate 10 in the Cabazon area on Sunday morning, the California Highway Patrol reports. The victim has since been identified as a Brawley woman.

The three people were in a 2003 Ford Explorer SUV headed westbound on the freeway, just west of the Whitewater rest area, when Desiree Wager drifted off the the roadway, over the edge and onto the north dirt shoulder, according to the CHP and coroner's reports.

"The vehicle went over the north dirt embankment and collided with a tree," CHP Officer Darren Meyer said in a news release. "All three people in the vehicle were trapped inside the wreckage."

Wager died at the scene.

A 76-year-old Oregon woman, who was in the front passenger seat, and a 61-year-old Brawley man, who was in the right rear seat, were taken to Desert Regional Medical Center with injuries described as moderate, authorities said.

All three occupants had to be cut out of the wreckage by firefighters, according to the CHP.

The SUV was going about 70 mph in the number four lane when the crash occurred, the CHP reported. All three people in the vehicle were wearing seatbelts.