Motorist Killed in Collision Along I-10 in Whitewater Identified

WHITEWATER (CNS) – A motorist killed in a two-vehicle wreck on Interstate 10 in Whitewater that led to a daylong closure of lanes was identified Friday as a 34-year-old Yucca Valley man.

Martin Garcia was fatally injured about 8:50 a.m. Thursday on eastbound I-10 near Haugen-Lehmann Way, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The agency said that the victim was in a sedan that collided with a van in the slow lane, though it was unclear which driver was at fault or what exactly triggered the impact.

Riverside County Fire Department crews reached the location a short time later and discovered Garcia gravely injured and trapped in his vehicle, requiring extrication, officials said.

He was pronounced dead after being removed from the vehicle.

The fire department said that the other driver suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene by paramedics but declined to be taken to a hospital for further evaluation.

CHP officers shut down four of five lanes on the eastbound side of the interstate for the preliminary investigation and to clear the wreckage, causing a traffic jam stretching back to Beaumont that lasted until almost 5 p.m., when all lanes were reopened.

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