Fiery big rig crash that hospitalized 4 was caused by high speed pursuit

UPDATE 10:30 a.m.: A fiery crash involving three big rigs and one sedan this morning on I-10 near Desert Center was caused by a traffic backup initiated by a high-speed pursuit, according to CHP officer Ramon Perez.

“Earlier today, just before 6 AM, in the morning we had some units assigned to a construction zone detail Eastbound interstate 10 just east of Washington Street,” Diaz told KESQ & CBS Local 2 news team member.” While they were patrolling that construction zone they observed a vehicle going by at a high rate of speed. “

The officer attempted to execute an enforcement stop on the vehicle and a pursuit followed.

“They followed the vehicle until approximately one mile east of [the big rig crash location], at which point the pursuit vehicle crashed into the center median guardrail, said Diaz. “Because of that collision, the CHP vehicle which was…pursuing… collided into the center guardrail.”

One CHP officer sustained minor injuries as a result of the crash, while a second officer was uninjured. The woman driving the pursuit vehicle was taken into custody and brought to the hospital as a precautionary measure. There is no word on if drugs or alcohol played a factor in the crash.

This collision caused traffic to back up on I-10 eastbound at approximately 6:08 a.m.

“As a result of the stopped traffic, we had two…[big rigs]…which were both in the slow lane stopped in traffic,” continued Perez. “A sedan that was in the number one lane was struck by a third big rig.
The third big rig approached the two big rigs that were stopped in the right lane and attempted to avoid the collision by swerving to the left, this caused the third big rig to strike the two big rigs on their left side.”

Two of the big rigs caught on fire as a result of the collision. 2 people were flown to area hospitals with major injuries and 2 were transported by ground with moderate injuries A 5th person in one of the crash vehicles did not sustain any injuries.

One lane has since reopened on I-10 eastbound, but lane closures are expected to expected to persist until at least noon.

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The California Highway Patrol issued a SigAlert following a fiery collision involving a big rig semi truck and at least two other vehicles on Interstate 10 eastbound, a half hour east of Coachella.

The crash was reported at 6:36 a.m. on the interstate, east of Red Cloud Mine Road.

Police said there might be one fatality.

The CHP said a semi truck ran into vehicles, which were caught up in stopped traffic.

At least one vehicle and the big truck were on fire. The CHP said one vehicle exploded. A brush fire was also ignited.

Authorities closed both eastbound lanes of Interstate 10 to all traffic at the scene. Traffic was backing up. The CHP said there was no alternate route and no word on how long the closure would last, only describing it as long-term.

This is a breaking news update. We have a crew on the way. Stay with KESQ News Channel 3 / CBS Local 2 News for updates.