A 40-year-old motorist who allegedly caused a crash that killed one of his passengers and injured another in Meadowbrook was at large Monday, sought by the California Highway Patrol.
Pedro Vargas of Perris is suspected of causing the crash that killed 30-year-old Anna Tinoco of Lake Elsinore about 5:25 a.m. Sunday on Highway 74, just east of Hammack Avenue, according to the CHP.
Officer Mike Lassig said that Vargas was at the wheel of a 2020 Chevy Colorado pickup going west on the four-lane corridor when he “veered to the right, off of the roadway and collided into a metal guardrail.”
“The Chevy overturned several times before coming to rest,” Lassig said.
A 2005 Acura MDX headed in the same direction was hit by a tire that flew off of the pickup and bounced onto the highway, damaging the mid-size SUV but not injuring the 51-year-old woman at the wheel, according to the CHP spokesman.
He alleged that Vargas extricated himself from the Chevy and ran away. His whereabouts were unknown Monday, and he was the focus of an investigation, according to Lassig.
Riverside County Fire Department crews reached the crash within a few minutes and extricated Tinoco from the wreckage. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Her fellow passenger in the pickup, identified only as a 30-year-old Perris woman, suffered moderate injuries and was taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar for treatment.
Highway 74 was partially closed until late Sunday afternoon as a result of the crash.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the Temecula CHP office at 951-506-2000.