Update 3:47 p.m. Four people were injured Thursday morning in a crash involving a bigrig and a Toyota Tacoma pickup on westbound Interstate 10 just east of the 215 interchange, and crash-related delays backed up traffic into Loma Linda and Redlands for several hours.
An estimated 100 gallons of fuel spilled and a center-divider was reported damaged or compromised in the 7:20 a.m. crash. All westbound lanes were reported open as of 2:06 p.m., according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP Officer Leon Lopez gave the following account in a news release:
About 7:20 a.m. Nov. 29, a woman identified as Miss Fuerte, 18, of San Bernardino, was driving a 1997 Tacoma west on the 10 from the Hunts Lane on-ramp, and another motorist, identified as Mr. Teator, 49, of Davenport, N.Y., was driving a tractor-trailer combination west on the 10 at just under 60 miles per hour.
"For reasons still under investigation, the driver of the Toyota allowed her vehicle to veer to the left and into the path of the truck/trailer combination vehicle," Lopez said.
Upon impact, Teator turned his bigrig to the left where he crossed all westbound lanes "while dragging the Toyota underneath," Lopez said.
Both vehicles reached the center median of the 10 and the bigrig overturned, coming to a stop, partly lying across the top of the center median guardrail with the Toyota pinned underneath, Lopez said.
"As emergency crews arrived on scene, Miss Fuerte and Mr. Teator were extricated and taken to Arrowhead Regional Medical Center with major to moderate injuries," Lopez said.
Two teenaged passengers in the Tacoma, a 14-year-old boy and a 16-year-old girl, were transported to Loma Linda University Medical Center with minor to moderate injuries, Lopez said.
"Preliminary evidence indicates that all of the occupants involved were wearing their seatbelts," Lopez said.
CHP and Caltrans set up a partial closure of eastbound and westbound lanes of I-10 to allow for clean-up of about 100 gallons of diesel fuel, Lopez said.
A Sig-Alert was issued for the #1 and #2 lanes on both sides of the 10 at the Interstate 215 interchange, Lopez said. The partial closure was expected to remain in effect 5 to 6 hours for the cleanup.
Posted 10:47 a.m. A driver whose pick up truck collided with a bigrig on the westbound Interstate 10 this morning has been hospitalized in critical condition.
The crash was reported just before 7:30 a.m. east of Waterman Avenue in San Bernardino near the Loma Linda city limits. California Highway Patrol officials were still at the scene as of 10:30 a.m.
According to CHP records, a bigrig hauling pallets of candy, was traveling westbound when it somehow lost control and veered into the center divider.
Somewhere along the way, the larger truck struck the pick-up. Witnesses reported seeing one driver ejected. Officials found one person trapped, according to CHP records.
The bigrig came to rest across the fast lanes of the westbound and eastbound I-10, according to a CHP spokesman. Investigators are looking into the possibility that rain played a role in the crash, the spokesman said.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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