Crime & Safety

Serious Crashes Tie Up Local Roads Memorial Weekend

UPDATED at 12:10 p.m.: As of Sunday morning, several serious crashes have been reported in the area the Memorial Day weekend by Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

The most serious occurred Saturday night when a motorist was ejected in a single-vehicle rollover crash near Lake Skinner and died.

The crash was reported at 8:05 p.m. in the 37700 block of Warren Road, according to Jody Hagemann, spokeswoman for Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department.

According to the Riverside County Coroner's Office, the victim was 29-year-old Racquel Kalisiak of Menifee. She was pronounced dead at Rancho Springs Medical Center at 8:52 p.m. Saturday.

Then early Sunday morning, first responders had to perform a cut and rescue in Menifee following a crash that left two injured.

According to Hagemann, the crash was reported at 12:51 a.m. in the 28400 block of McCall Boulevard in front of Menifee Valley Medical Center. The incident resulted in one person with major injuries and one with minor injuries.

The driver in that solo-vehicle wreck may have been under the influence, a sheriff's sergeant is reporting. According to Riverside County sheriff's Sgt. Sergio Rodriguez, the possibly drunken driver drifted off the roadway in front of the medical center and crashed into a guardrail that pierced through his pickup truck and badly injured his passenger. 

When sheriff's deputies arrived on scene, they found the driver trapped and an unconscious female passenger, Rodriguez said.

The crash occurred directly in front of the hospital but did not strike the building. Firefighters used a cutting tool to free both occupants. The passenger, 21, was taken to a hospital for treatment of major injuries and was in critical condition, Rodriguez said.

The driver, a 21-year-old Nuevo resident, was sent to a hospital for treatment of minor injuries.

The driver's name was not released, nor was he arrested. But Rodriguez said alcohol and drugs were considered to be a factor in the crash.

Two people were also hurt Sunday morning in a two-vehicle crash on the northbound I-215 at the Ramona Expressway.

According to Hagemann, the crash reported at 2:04 a.m. led to first responders having to extricate patients. Both were transported to an area hospital for treatment of moderate to major injuries, Hagemann reported.

Additionally, as Patch previously reported, Saturday a vehicle tumbled about 100 feet over the side from Highway 74 on the steep mountain grade east of San Jacinto, just west of the Strawberry Creek bridge, and rescuers had to climb down to free the trapped and injured driver.

Firefighters received the crash call at 8:06 a.m., Hagemann said.

Injuries were not serious in that single-vehicle mishap, Hagemann said.

The crashes are under investigation.



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