Deadly Big Rig Crash Reported Near Elsinore

MEADOWBROOK, CA — One person is dead Monday afternoon following a wreck between a sedan and a big rig on a highway near Lake Elsinore, officials report. The crash happened along State Route 74, near Festus Circle, at 11:25 a.m., according to the California Highway Patrol. The agency has since issued a sig alert.

Fire officials say they were called to the crash site, where they found a person trapped inside a car.

"The first arriving engine company reported a two vehicle traffic collision with one patient trapped," April Newman of the Riverside County Fire Department said. "The patient succumbed to their injuries at the scene."

A Honda Accord and a tractor-trailer collided in the middle of the highway, though it was unclear which vehicle precipitated the crash, CHP logs indicated. The trucker was uninjured.

The CHP shut down one lane on each side of the four-lane highway. The closure was expected to remain in effect until about 1:30 p.m., according to the agency.

— Patch file photo by Renee Schiavone / City News Service contributed to this report