Multiple-vehicle accident shuts down Newport Road

Story updated at 8:30 p.m. with additional details.

By Doug Spoon, Editor

A section of Menifee’s major traffic route was closed at rush hour Tuesday after a multiple-vehicle accident with serious injuries, police said.

Menifee Police Captain Dave Gutierrez said the accident at Newport Road and Berea Road about 3:05 p.m. involved three vehicles. An adult male was driving a Ford SUV westbound on Newport, ran a red light, and broadsided a BMW SUV driven by an adult female who had a green light southbound from Berea onto Newport. The female had to be extricated from her vehicle. Both of those drivers are hospitalized in critical condition. There are no fatalities related to the accident at this point.

According to Gutierrez, the female's vehicle was pushed into a Chrysler sedan that was in a turn lane on eastbound Newport. That driver was transported to a hospital as a precaution.

The driver of the Ford SUV was identified only as a 41-year-old male from Menifee. The driver of the BMW SUV was identified as a 41-year-old female from Menifee. The driver of the Chrysler sedan was a 55-year-old female from Menifee.

Gutierrez said that based on the evidence and witness accounts, police believe DUI was involved in the accident. No other details in that regard are available at this point.

Police officers performed CPR on the driver of the BMW SUV until paramedics arrived to take over treatment. Westbound Newport Road was closed for about three hours during the investigation.

Anyone with additional information regarding the collision is asked to contact the Menifee PD Traffic Unit at 951-723-1690 or 951-723-1565.