The county coroner Thursday released the names of three people, including a Beaumont father and his teenage son, killed in a fiery Desert Center crash a week ago that also seriously injured the man’s young granddaughter.
Nicholas Dearinger, 16, and Donald Dearinger, 52, were killed, along with Dale Phillips, last Thursday morning when their semi-truck crashed into his stopped big rig on the right shoulder of eastbound Interstate 10, east of Eagle Mountain Road.
Phillips, 60, of Orange, was fatally injured while outside his truck, California Highway Patrol Officer Mike Radford said.
The father and son died at the scene of the crash, which left one of the trucks engulfed in flames. Donald Dearinger’s granddaughter, Zoey, was ejected and was airlifted to a medical center with major injuries, Radford said. An online page created to raise funds for the Dearinger family’s funeral expenses says the girl remains hospitalized.
The cause of the crash remains under investigation by the California Highway Patrol.
Anyone who wishes to contribute to the family can do so at www.youcaring.com/shalonadearinger-992995 .
–City News Service