6 Injured In Lamb's Canyon Crash After Car Goes Off Cliff

BEAUMONT, CA —Rainy weather conditions and speed contributed to a multiple-injury crash Tuesday morning near Beaumont that sent some passengers flying out of the vehicle, according to the California Highway Patrol and Cal Fire/ Riverside County Fire Department.

The crash was first reported at 7:37 a.m. along the southbound side of SR-79, in between Beaumont and San Jacinto, according to CHP logs.

A gold Toyota Camry went off a hillside in Lamb's Canyon— ejecting four passengers in the process, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The Camry driver lost control while changing lanes on the rain-slicked highway, CHP Officer Jason Montez told Patch.

"It was raining, and they were driving too quickly for the rain," Montez said.

The driver, an 18-year-old San Jacinto man, was the only one wearing a seatbelt when the car careened off the road and into the ravine below.

"There were only seatbelts for five people," Montez said.

All six of the injured were between 18 and 19-years-old and suffered at least minor injuries. Fire officials said four of the people had "serious" injuries.

Cal Fire/Riverside County Firefighters shared the details of the complex rescue.

"Due to steep conditions, firefighters utilized a low angle rope system to extricate the patients from the scene," the fire department said on Twitter.

Three of the injured were taken by ambulance to Loma Linda, and medics took three more to Riverside University Health Systems Medical Center, Montez said.

The CHP closed one lane of the highway due to the wreck. As of 10 a.m., traffic reports indicated a major backup in the area.

Montez added a word of caution that drivers "please slow down in the rain, especially on SR-79, we have a lot of crashes on that roadway, especially in wet weather conditions."