Two motorists and a passenger killed in a collision on the Riverside (91) Freeway triggered because one of the drivers went the wrong way, heading straight into oncoming traffic, were identified Friday.
Rogelio Cervantes Ruiz, 43, his wife, Ana Belen Ruiz, 42, both of Garden Grove, and Alison B. Carey, 41, of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, were fatally injured in the predawn hours Thursday on the westbound 91 at Cridge Street, according to the California Highway Patrol and Riverside County Coroner’s Office.
CHP Officer Javier Navarro alleged that just after 2 a.m., Rogelio Ruiz drove his Kia Sportage onto the 91, possibly entering at Madison Street, intending to go eastbound, but ending up in the No. 2 lane on the westbound side of the freeway, facing traffic.
Multiple drivers reported the wrongway driver, and CHP officers began searching for the Kia moments later, Navarro said.
He said that roughly eight minutes after the initial 911 calls, the compact SUV “crashed head-on with a Volkswagen Jetta.”
“The impact caused the VW to overturn, and while it was still in motion, a semi truck struck the car,” Navarro said.
All lanes were blocked by the collisions.
Officers and Riverside Fire Department paramedics reached the location within a few minutes, at which point Rogelio Ruiz and his spouse, as well as Carey, were all pronounced dead at the scene.
The trucker was not injured, Navarro said.
Video taken in the aftermath showed the mangled SUV in the middle of the freeway and the nearly unrecognizable VW pushed into a K-rail along the shoulder.
Navarro said the big rig sustained significant damage and required a heavy-duty tow for removal.
The wreckage was cleared by mid-morning, and officers opened westbound lanes.
Autopsies were pending on the decedents Friday.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the Riverside CHP office at 951-324-7210.