Woman injured, suspects flee scene of wrong-way crash

By Doug Spoon, Editor

A woman was seriously injured and police are looking for one of two suspects who fled the scene of a wrong-way crash on the 215 Freeway near Scott Road in Menifee today, authorities said.

The incident began just after 2:30 a.m., while Hemet Police Department officers were pursuing a stolen vehicle in a chase that began moments earlier in that city. The suspect vehicle, a Dodge Ram pickup truck, was heading south on Antelope Road in Menifee heading toward Scott Road when the driver turned off all the vehicle’s lights while traveling at a high rate of speed, according to a CHP news release.

With police vehicles still in pursuit, the pickup truck left the roadway and drove through a fence on the perimeter of the 215 Freeway, then began driving southbound in the northbound freeway lanes north of Scott Road. Hemet PD vehicles stopped their pursuit prior to reaching the perimeter fence.

The suspect vehicle, heading the wrong way with no lights, moved into the No. 2 lane before slowing. The driver and passenger exited the vehicle while it was still moving and fled on foot across the southbound lanes and into a dirt field just west of the freeway.

A 2016 Dodge van, driven by a 55-year-old woman from Lake Elsinore, was traveling northbound in the No. 2 lane at approximately 65 mph, according to the CHP. The driver did not see the blacked-out suspect vehicle, which collided head-on with the van.

The woman was trapped inside the van, was extricated by Cal Fire personnel, and was transported to Inland Valley Medical Center with major injuries. The passenger of the suspect vehicle was located by police and detained. The driver of that vehicle had not been located as of this afternoon.

Northbound freeway lanes were blocked following the collision, with debris scattered across multiple lanes. Menifee PD was not involved in the pursuit but assisted in securing the perimeter of the scene during the investigation, Captain Dave Gutierrez said.