91 Freeway horror as three killed in massive wrong-way crash involving big rig
At least three people have been killed in a freeway crash involving a wrong-way driver in SoCal’s Riverside early Thursday morning, snarling traffic as debris covered the road.
The incident happened at about 2 a.m. near 14th Street on the 91 Freeway and involved three vehicles, including a big rig.
According to California Highway Patrol traffic logs, vehicles were traveling at high speed eastbound in the westbound lanes of the freeway. Officers reported a vehicle swerving between cars until the fatal accident occurred.
A white SUV overturned on its side after a collision with a black sedan and the big rig. One witness named Michelle said that the collision was related to a wrong-way driver, the logs said.
Officers saw several dead bodies inside the black sedan, which was a BMW, according to ABC 7. A fourth person was taken to the hospital in unknown condition, the outlet reported.
Shocking footage from the scene revealed the extent of the fatal crash. The black BMW had severe damage to its front end with jagged metal all over it.
The white SUV appeared utterly destroyed as it lay on its side near the freeway wall. The big rig only had some damage to its front end.
The big rig faced the flow of traffic, while the black car faced away and the white car was on its side.
Officials issued a SIG Alert because of the incident and closed all lanes on the westbound 91 Freeway and an onramp at 14th Street in the area as debris-cleanup crews swept up. Caltrans urged commuters to find a different route around the incident.
“All lanes closed on WB SR-91 near 14th Street in Riverside due to traffic incident,” Caltrans District 8 wrote on X.
“Maintenance crews are on scene for clean up. Unknown ETO. Seek alternate route if possible. Check https://quickmap.dot.ca.gov for updates.”
Traffic in the area was severely backed up as of 6:40 a.m. The California Highway Patrol closed its end of the incident around 5:15 a.m. after closing the road and deploying flares.
The horrific crash is still under investigation.
