My News LA reports a motorist is suspected of driving under the influence, causing a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 215 just before sunrise on Monday.
According to a statement released by the California Highway Patrol, 26-year-old Isiah F. Orona of Menifee was taken into custody after allegedly causing the wreck.
Investigators say that at approximately 3:15 a.m. Orona was driving his 2020 Dodge Charger in the northbound lanes of Interstate 215 near Lake Linnel Lane at an unknown speed when he “made an unsafe turning movement.” Orona’s vehicle slammed into a concrete center divider, and he lost control of his car.
California Highway Patrol officer Mike Lassig told reporters that the force of the impact caused Orona’s vehicle to veer back into the lanes of traffic, where he collided with a 2004 Hyundai being driven by a 55-year-old Menifee man.
Immediately following the secondary collision, Orona’s car veered in the opposite direction and collided with a 2017 Kia Sportage occupied by a family of four from Las Vegas.
“At the conclusion of all these events, all vehicles came to a rest (on the freeway),” Lassig said.
The California Highway Patrol, firefighters, and paramedics from Murrieta Fire and Rescue responded to the scene just minutes after the crash. The driver of the Kia and his 6-year-old son was rushed to Inland Medical Center in Wildomar with major injuries. The other occupants of the Kia suffered only minor injuries.
The driver of the Hyundai declined to be taken to the hospital. Orona also suffered severe injuries. According to a later report, all those injured are expected to recover.
Lassig said that based on evidence at the crash scene and additional toxicology reports confirm that Orona was intoxicated at the time of the crash. He was taken into custody on suspicion of DUI while still at the hospital.
