Motorist killed in crash along I-10 in Whitewater identified
A motorist killed in a two-vehicle wreck on Interstate 10 in Whitewater that led to a daylong closure of lanes was identified today as a 34-year-old Yucca Valley man.
Martin Garcia was fatally injured about 8:50 a.m. Thursday on eastbound I-10 near Haugen-Lehmann Way, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The agency said that the victim was in a sedan that collided with a van in the slow lane, though it was unclear which driver was at fault or what exactly triggered the impact.
Riverside County Fire Department crews reached the location a short time later and discovered Garcia gravely injured and trapped in his vehicle, requiring extrication, officials said.
He was pronounced dead after being removed from the vehicle. Â Â The fire department said that the other driver suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene by paramedics but declined to be taken to a
hospital for further evaluation.
CHP officers shut down four of five lanes on the eastbound side of the interstate for the preliminary investigation and to clear the wreckage, causing a traffic jam stretching back to Beaumont that lasted until almost 5 p.m., when all lanes were reopened.
