LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A head-on collision in Lake Elsinore that killed two local residents and injured multiple passengers Tuesday night was triggered when one of the drivers steered into opposing traffic, authorities said Thursday.
The crash occurred just after 9 p.m. on Grand Avenue less than a block south of Gregory Place, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officer Jesus Garcia said 22-year-old Andry Robles Morales of Lake Elsinore was at the wheel of a 2010 Chevrolet Camaro going northbound at an unconfirmed speed when he "veered to the left, crossed the center portion of the roadway and entered the southbound lane."
The Camaro slammed into the front of a 2025 Toyota Camry driven by 56-year-old Joseph Chester Collins of Wildomar who was going south on Grand Avenue, Garcia said.
Collins was the only person in the Camry at the time of the collision, according to the CHP.
No other vehicles were involved.
Riverside County Fire Department paramedics arrived at the scene within a few minutes and pronounced Morales dead.
Collins was taken to nearby Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar where he died that night, the CHP spokesman said.
Garcia said two men in the Camaro with Morales, 23-year-old Miguel Cortez of Lake Elsinore and 26-year-old Nelson Robles Morales, a relative of the driver, were seriously injured and taken to the same facility for treatment.
They were in recovery Thursday.
"It is currently unknown whether alcohol or drugs were factors in this crash," Garcia said.
An autopsy on Andry Morales was pending Thursday.
City News Service contributed to this report.
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