(This story was updated with new information.)
A 62-year-old man was killed Tuesday, April 14, when a big rig veered off the road, crossed into oncoming traffic and slammed into the cement mixer he was driving, the California Highway Patrol said. The chain-reaction crash involved eight vehicles in all.
The Riverside County Coroner’s Office has not yet released the identity of the man who died, but CHP said he was a Yucca Valley resident.
The cause of the crash was still under investigation late Tuesday, and CHP said alcohol and drugs were not suspected factors.
The crash was reported at about 7:50 a.m. Tuesday on Interstate 10 west of Washington Street.
A 38-year-old Menifee man driving a 2021 Mack tractor-trailer that was heading eastbound veered left for unknown reasons, drove through the center median and entered the westbound lanes, CHP said in a press release.
The big rig struck the side of a 2018 Peterbilt cement mixer, whose driver was pronounced dead at the scene. The big rig’s trailer then blocked the westbound lanes and was struck by a Jeep.
The crash also involved other vehicles in the eastbound lanes “as a result of the Mack’s unsafe turning movement,” CHP said.
The driver of the big rig suffered major injuries and was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs. A 39-year-old Palm Desert man was also taken there with what CHP called “moderate injuries.”
Two women — a 64-year-old from Palm Desert and a 52-year-old from Cathedral City — were treated for minor injuries at Eisenhower Medical Center in Rancho Mirage, along with a 37-year-old Desert Hot Springs woman who went there as a precaution.
A 67-year-old man from San Marcos suffered moderate injuries, but was not transported by rescue personnel. A 59-year-old woman from Cathedral City and her two juvenile passengers were not injured.
Traffic was backed up for most of the day in both directions — eastbound starting at Cook Street and westbound starting around Jefferson Street.
By 6 p.m., all lanes had reopened.
Jennifer Cortez covers education in the Coachella Valley. Reach her at jennifer.cortez@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: One killed in big rig crash on Interstate 10
Reporting by Jennifer Cortez, Palm Springs Desert Sun / Palm Springs Desert Sun
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