I-10 Morning Crash Caused By 'Wrong Way Driver:' CHP

INDIO, CA — A wrong-way driver who struck another vehicle on eastbound I-10 at Dillon Road was killed early Tuesday, according to California Highway Patrol investigators and media reports.

Shortly before 4:45 a.m., Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department firefighters arrived at the scene of that collision, on the eastbound I-10 freeway at the Dillon Road offramp. There, a Nissan Sentra driving westbound in the eastbound lanes collided with a Toyota Camry, according to California Highway Patrol.

One victim was trapped in the wreckage.

"Engine 87, the first-arriving company, reported a two-vehicle traffic collision with one vehicle pinned against the center divider," a spokesperson for that agency said.

One person, unable to self extract from inside a vehicle, required firefighters to use the jaws of life to free them.

"The patient with moderate injuries was transported to a local trauma center via ground ambulance," they said.

The Toyota Camry driver was taken to John F. Kennedy Memorial Hospital, according to NBC Palm Springs reports. The Nissan driver was killed as a result of the crash, and their identity was withheld pending notification of next of kin. The cause remained under investigation.

Eastbound I-10 at Golf Center Pkwy was fully closed for approximately 45 minutes after the collision. By 9:30 a.m. the roadways had reopened to traffic.

The CHP is asking anyone with information about the crash to call Officer V. Bounlangsy at (760) 772-5300.