‘We urgently tried to get to the children.’ Baby killed in violent crash on I-215 in Riverside
-
Click here to listen to this article - Share via
See more from the L.A. Times in Google Search. Set us as preferred
A 3-month-old was killed and five other people were injured in a three-vehicle crash on Interstate 215 in Riverside on Sunday evening, authorities said.
The baby, identified as Leon Edgington Morales, of Perris, was injured at 7:30 p.m. on the northbound 215, south of Eucalyptus Avenue, and pronounced dead at 8:10 p.m., according to the Riverside County sheriff’s Coroner’s Bureau.
The California Highway Patrol responded to the vehicle pileup at 7:34 p.m. Sunday shortly after a Honda Civic came to a stop in traffic, a Nissan Versa slammed into the Honda, and a Toyota Rav4 slammed into the Nissan.
The Nissan was carrying a man, woman, a female toddler and the 3-month-old, a CHP spokesperson told newsgathering organization OnScene.TV. The man, who was driving, had injuries described as major, while the woman’s and toddler’s injuries were described as minor to moderate.
Video captured by OnScene showed a firefighter holding the toddler and crews extracting the two adults from the front of the car and loading them into an ambulance. The back half of the Nissan appeared severely crushed from the force of the Toyota Rav4 that slammed into it.
Drugs and alcohol are not suspected to be a factor in the crash, which remains under investigation, according to the CHP.
The driver of the Toyota sustained moderate injuries, and an elderly passenger in the Honda also had complaints of pain, the spokesperson said.
A woman identified only as Ciana C told OnScene she pulled over in her car and attempted to help when she saw the immediate aftermath of the crash. She said she and other bystanders tried to open the door of the damaged Nissan to free the occupants but were unable to do so.
“We urgently tried to get to the children in the back, and we were not successful,” she said, “But I tried keeping the parents calm and telling them that I was there, trying to get any information that I could.”
Once firefighters arrived and extracted the infant, they began performing CPR, but it looked like the baby was turning blue, she said. She said the toddler was moving and looked coherent. She held onto a dog that was also in the family’s car.
More From the Los Angeles Times
Podcasts
William Mulholland was the water boss who made L.A. possible. His reputation gave him unchecked authority as a dam builder. In 1928, that led to one of America’s deadliest disasters--and the question of whether it was a crime.
It started as a ploy to scare Texas out of redrawing its congressional map and ended with California voters approving a new map of their own, one that could hat could help alter the balance of power in Washington.
On this week’s episode of Boiling Point, Miranda Green speaks with Los Angeles Times climate reporter Hayley Smith about how AI bots are meddling in California’s clean energy policymaking.
