[symple_googlemap title=”” location=”Harley John Rd., Twyla Jane Lane” height=”300″ zoom=”15″]
A 54-year-old man died in a fiery head-on collision near Lake Mathews while trying to avoid hitting a van whose driver turned in front of him, authorities said Wednesday.
The victim, whose identity was not released, died about 6 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Harley John Road and Twyla Jane Lane, just east of the lake and south of the unincorporated community of Woodcrest, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officer Dan Olivas said the victim was at the wheel of a 1994 Ford Ranger pickup truck going northbound on Harley John when 42-year-old Shawn Brudos of Riverside made a left turn directly in front of him to go east on Twyla Jane.
The pickup driver turned sharply left to keep from running into Brudos’ 2000 Dodge Ram van, Olivas said.
“The Ford subsequently crossed the double yellow lines and traveled into the southbound lane, where it collided, head-on, with a 2015 Mazda 6,” he said. “After the impact, the Ford ignited and became fully engulfed in flames. The driver of the Ford was unable to exit the vehicle and sustained fatal injuries on scene.”
Riverside County firefighters arrived a few minutes later and extinguished the blaze.
Tina Chen, 50, of Riverside was driving the Mazda and suffered major injuries, while her female passenger, who was not identified, suffered minor injuries, according to Olivas.
Brudos was not hurt.
The crash remains under investigation.
— City News Service