An 18-year-old Thousand Palms woman was killed in a crash in Whitewater after her car swerved into a guardrail on Interstate 10, then was struck by a big rig, the California Highway Patrol reported Friday.

Daisy Diaz Gomez was headed eastbound on Interstate 10 at 9:28 p.m. Thursday when her 2012 Toyota Corolla swerved to the left and into the center median guardrail just west of Highway 111, according to CHP Officer Darren Meyer. The impact of striking the guardrail bounced her car back into the middle lanes, where the Toyota was then struck about two minutes later by a big rig driven by 46-year-old Carnel Jackson of Murrieta.

Diaz Gomez’s car was pushed into the right shoulder, where 19-year-old Jordan Wilcox’s Hyundai Sonata was stopped. Her car struck the Hyundai, then landed in a dirt field just off the roadway, where she was pronounced dead, Meyer said.

Wilcox was hospitalized with minor injuries, while Jackson was uninjured, according to Meyer.

Alcohol and drugs have not been ruled out as contributing factors in the crash, Meyer said.

–City News Service

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