Big rig driver dies after I-10 crash

A 59-year-old trucker suffering from an unknown medical condition was involved in a collision on Interstate 10 in Banning and died at a hospital less than an hour later, authorities said today.

The Banning resident, whose name was withheld, was driving a 2017 Mack tractor-trailer in the slow lane on eastbound I-10, just east of Highland Springs Avenue, when the rig drifted across two lanes and impacted a 2004 Toyota Highlander in the fast lane about 1:15 p.m. Tuesday, according to the California Highway Patrol.

“The truck continued drifting in a northeast direction, pushing the Highlander into the center median and pinning it against the center median barrier wall,” CHP Officer Darren Meyer said.

The two vehicles came to rest against the wall. The woman at the wheel of the Toyota and her passenger escaped injury according to Meyer.

The officer said Riverside County Fire Department paramedics found the trucker unconscious and unresponsive. He died at San Gorgonio Memorial Medical Center in Banning.

Coroner’s officials are investigating what may have precipitated the man’s death and triggered the collision.