3 Serious Crashes In 1 Month On Murrieta's Whitewood Road

MURRIETA, CA — A solo-vehicle crash Sunday night in Murrieta left one person with serious injuries, and it marks another significant traffic incident in Whitewood Road's residential area over the past month.

The crash occurred around 7:34 p.m. at Whitewood's intersection with Carolwood Court, about a quarter mile south of Alta Murrieta Drive.

A gray Ford F-150 truck smashed into a tree and light pole, severing both objects.

Firefighters used the jaws of life to extract a woman from the wreckage; she was sent to a local hospital with major injuries.

The man driving the pickup was treated at the crash scene but declined further medical treatment, according to a reporter at the scene.

No other injuries were reported.

Northbound Whitewood Road was closed for about 90 minutes while Murrieta police investigated the crash and crews worked to clean up the damage. Firefighters used a chainsaw to cut the downed tree and clear the roadway. A Southern California Edison crew de-activated the exposed wires from the downed pole.

Further details were not immediately available. The crash cause remains under investigation by Murrieta police.

The wreck marks the third significant traffic incident on Whitewood Road over the last month.

At approximately 8 p.m. April 23, a 73-year-old cyclist died after he smashed into the back of a parked SUV on Whitewood Road, north of Poinsettia Street.

Josef Binter of Murrieta was riding north on Whitewood when up ahead a 37-year-old woman in an SUV had pulled over, just north of the Poinsettia Street intersection, and parked on the roadside to tend to her child in the backseat, according to the Murrieta Police Department.

Binter apparently did not see the stopped SUV and smashed into the vehicle's rear. Read more here.

In a separate incident last Thursday evening, a motorcyclist was killed at Whitewood Road and Hellebore Street.

Mason Young, 23, of Menifee was pronounced dead at the scene of the 6:31 p.m. crash.

A 17-year-old girl behind the wheel of a sedan was making a left turn onto northbound Whitewood from Hellebore, according to Murrieta police. She failed to see Young riding southbound on Whitewood and he broadsided her car. Read more here.

All three crashes were in residential areas.