Driver Killed in I-10 Crash Near Whitewater After Crashing Into Big Rig

The driver of a speeding SUV was killed and his five passengers were injured when the vehicle rear-ended a big rig on Interstate 10 near Whitewater Friday, a California Highway Patrol officer said.

The crash was reported about 2:05 a.m. on westbound I-10 west of State Route 62. A BMW X5 driven by a 24-year-old Cathedral City man and carrying five passengers was “traveling at an unsafe speed” and crashed into the rear of the rig, CHP Officer Mike Radford said.

He said alcohol and/or drugs appeared to be a factor in the crash.

The BMW’s driver, who wasn’t immediately identified, died at the scene. The passengers were a 32-year-old Hemet man, a 25-year-old San Jacinto woman, a 22-year-old San Jacinto man, a 22-year-old Hemet woman and a woman whose age and city were unknown.

Three of the passengers were taken to Desert Regional Medical Center with injuries ranging from serious to minor; the other two passengers were taken to Eisenhower Medical Center with minor injuries, Radford said.

The big rig’s driver, 55-year-old Felix Preciado of La Puente, complained of pain but wasn’t taken to a hospital.

--City News Service contributed to this report.