Coroner IDs RivCo Woman Killed In Collision With Tractor

COACHELLA VALLEY, CA — The Riverside County Sheriff's Department Coroner's Bureau has identified a 58-year-old woman killed Monday in a traffic collision.

Maria Moreno De Hernandez was fatally injured around 6 a.m. Monday on 70th Avenue in Mecca, according to the coroner's report.

California Highway Patrol reported that a tractor hauling a flatbed trailer was traveling westbound on 70th Avenue, west of Garfield Street, when a white Ford Ranger pickup was driving behind the vehicle at an unconfirmed speed.

That Ranger struck the rear of the trailer for unidentified reasons, CHP said. De Hernandez was pronounced dead at the scene.

The Kubota driver, identified only as a 21-year-old man from Mecca, sustained no injuries.

Alcohol and/or drugs are not suspected to be a factor in the crash, CHP said.

Anyone with additional information regarding the collision was asked to call 760-772-5300.