21-year-old man ID’d after deadly Mecca crash

The California Highway Patrol released new details about Thursday’s head-on crash in Mecca that claimed the life of a 21-year-old man.

The Riverside County Coroners Office said Leopoldo Botello Corona of Thermal died at Desert Regional Medical Center after being airlifted from the crash scene at Johnson Street and Avenue 62.

The collision was reported at 12:19 p.m.

Officer Mike Radford said the 21-year-old was driving a Ford F-150 northbound on Johnson Street, south of Avenue 62, when the pickup traveled onto the right shoulder of the road. The driver then made an unsafe turn to the left, entering the southbound lane.

The head-on collision came as a 49-year-old man from Indio was driving a Chevy K-3500, which was towing a mulch-spreader, southbound on Johnson Street.

Radford said the left front of the Ford struck the left front of the Chevrolet, causing major damage to both vehicles. The Ford then hit an unoccupied car that was parked on the west shoulder of the road.

Both men had to be extricated from their vehicles by Cal Fire before being airlifted to hospitals. The man driving the Chevrolet sustained major injuries in the crash and he is being treated at Desert Regional Medical Center, Officer Radford said in the release.

The crash is still under investigation. Radford said it’s unknown at this time if drugs and/or alcohol were factors in the collision.

The California Highway Patrol shut down Johnson Street while officers investigated and emergency crews cleared the scene.