Two killed in Palm Desert crash

Two people are dead after a Palm Desert crash involving two vehicles Saturday night, according to Cal Fire.

It happened on Washington Street and Avenue 38 just after 9:30pm.

California Highway Patrol says a possibly-drunk motorist drove his pickup truck
into opposing traffic and rammed another pickup head-on, killing him and his female passenger.

The second truck’s driver and two boys inside survived.

The allegedly drunken driver was publicly identified only as a 41-year-
old Indio man. His 1999 Chevrolet Silverado was south on Washington when it
inexplicably crossed into the path of a 2006 GMC Sierra that was hauling a
trailer in the opposite direction, California Highway Patrol Sgt. Daniel Hesser
said.

The Indio man was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected, the Riverside
County Coroner’s Office reported. His passenger, a 29-year-old Christine Chandler from Indio, was in her seat belts but died of her injuries at the scene.

The driver of the Sierra and the two boys inside, ages 6 and 12, escaped
with minor injuries.