2 killed after crashing pickup truck east of Indio

Two men died and one woman was airlifted to the hospital with a fractured neck after a pickup truck crashed in the desert east of Indio Sunday morning.

The crash happened on westbound Interstate 10 between Chiriaco Summit and Indio.

The Riverside County Coroner’s Office identified the men as 40-year-old Andy Rojas of Blythe, and 32-year-old Jesse John Stark of Parker, Arizona.

The 39-year-old woman who was airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center was apparently sitting between Rojas and Stark when the crash occurred. None of them were wearing seat belts and officers with the California Highway Patrol said all three of them were ejected in the crash.

A sudden tire tread separation and rapid tire deflation caused the
driver of the gray Toyota pickup truck to lose control of the vehicle and
overturn at least once in the center median, according to a CHP statement

The California Highway Patrol got notice of the accident near Box Canyon Road at 10:43 a.m. Officers said the truck caught fire after overturning in the center divider.

Rojas died at the scene. Stark was airlifted to JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio where he died from his injuries about two hours after the crash.

The woman, whose name hasn’t been released, is recovering at Desert Regional Medical Center.