A motorist was seriously injured Wednesday in a two-car collision that occurred on a street directly in front of a Riverside hospital.
The crash was reported at 11:45 a.m. Wednesday in the 3800 block of Jackson Street, near Garfield Street, in front of Parkview Community Hospital, according to the Riverside Fire Department.
Battalion Chief Greg White said the two sedans impacted for unknown reasons, leaving one of the motorists trapped inside the wreckage with life-threatening injuries.
Light rain was falling throughout the city at the time.
An engine crew and a truck company, numbering nearly a dozen personnel, were sent to the location, where firefighters deployed industrial gear to extricate the victim, according to White.
The driver of the other vehicle self-extricated, apparently with superficial injuries that did not require medical attention.
White said both sides of Jackson were shut down for public safety while the injured party, whose identity was not disclosed, was safely pried out of the wreckage.
The patient was quickly taken to Parkview’s emergency room for treatment.
Firefighters began clearing the scene at 12:15 p.m.
Riverside police officers maintained a partial closure of Jackson early Wednesday afternoon while a preliminary investigation was conducted.