Suspected drunk driver dead after fiery crash in Rancho Mirage

A suspected drunken driver died of his injuries Saturday when his Lexus sport utility vehicle slammed into a high voltage power pole in Rancho Mirage and burst into flames, a sergeant said.

Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched at 9 a.m. to Bob Hope and Dinah Shore drives where the driver, 52-year-old Douglas York, crashed and flipped over several times.

The man was heading north on Bob Hope Drive when his SUV veered right and struck the pole. The vehicle overturned before landing on the center median and became engulfed in flames.

A passerby pulled the driver out of the fiery wreck. York was taken to a hospital where he later died of his injuries at about 11:30 a.m.

The fiery crash shut down traffic for three hours.

Riverside County firefighters initially reported three cars were involved, but the driver was apparently the sole motorist who crashed.