Pasadena Now reports that two women are dead, and a driver has been charged with DUI in connection with a chain reaction crash in Monrovia on Wednesday, June 23, 2021.
The fatal crash happened at approximately 2:50 p.m. in the eastbound lanes of the 210 Freeway near the Huntington Drive exit. Officers with the California Highway Patrol have arrested 49-year-old Humberto Gonzalez of Pacoima for having caused the multi-car crash.
CHP Officer C. Chen said in a statement that Gonzalez was allegedly driving his 2001 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck in the carpool lane when he rear-ended a 2008 Lexus ES 350. The driver of the Lexus had slowed down her vehicle to accommodate slowed traffic in front of her.
Gonzalez’s vehicle struck the Lexus, sending it into the rear end of a 2013 Ford F-150 pickup truck. This, in turn, pushed the Ford into the rear-end of a 2017 Chevrolet Tahoe SUV. The Tahoe then struck a 2017 Mazda 3. The initial crash sent the Lexus spinning into traffic, where it experienced secondary impacts with several additional vehicles.
Emergency crews and paramedics were dispatched to the scene of the freeway pileup. A 95-year-old female passenger who was in the Lexus at the time of the crash was pronounced dead at the scene.
The woman who had been driving the vehicle was rushed to an area hospital with life-threatening injuries. Officials say she later died of the injuries she suffered in the crash.
Others who were involved in the chain reaction crash suffered only minor injuries.
Gonzalez was arrested at the scene on suspicion of DUI.
The crash is currently under investigation.
