Menifee Man Dies Following Interstate 10 Crash

CABAZON, CA — A Southwest Riverside County man died after the car he was riding in crashed Wednesday night on westbound Interstate 10 in Cabazon.

Joseph Rios, 32, of Menifee was pronounced dead at Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs less than 90 minutes after the 6:36 p.m. freeway crash that was reported just west of Main Street, according to the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner's Bureau.

Rios was a passenger in a white Hyundai Sonata heading west on I-10. For reasons still unknown, the car's driver veered right onto the freeway's dirt shoulder. The driver tried to correct the steering and crashed with a tractor-trailer combination that was also westbound on the interstate, according to a preliminary report from California Highway Patrol Officer Jonathan Torres.

The crash impact pushed the Hyundai off the freeway and into a tree, Torres said.

The big-rig driver did not stop, according to Torres. No vehicle description was released.

The Hyundai driver was sent to a hospital with minor injuries, Torres said.

"At this time, alcohol or drugs do not appear to be a factor [in the crash]," Torres reported.

No arrests were announced.

The crash remains under investigation by the CHP.