UPDATED: Woman Killed in Collision with Semi on I-215 in Menifee

MENIFEE (CNS) – A 62-year-old woman was killed when her car was pushed underneath a tractor-trailer by a pickup truck driver who lost control on Interstate 215 in Menifee, authorities said Friday.

Lim Paz of Menifee was fatally injured shortly before 10 p.m. Thursday on northbound I-215 at Scott Road, according to the California Highway Patrol.

Officer Mike Lassig said Paz was at the wheel of a 2008 Toyota Camry that came to a stop when traffic came to a halt due to a freeway obstruction.

Lassig said a 61-year-old Murrieta woman, whose identity wasn’t disclosed, was driving her 2019 Dodge Ram pickup northbound and “failed to stop” when the vehicles ahead of her braked.

“The Dodge rear-ended the Toyota at a high rate of speed, causing major damage to the car and causing it to travel out of control,” the CHP spokesman said. “The Toyota came to rest underneath a 2023 Freightliner tractor-trailer.”

The pickup went on to sideswipe a Nissan Quest before finally coming to a stop in lanes, according to Lassig.

Riverside County Fire Department crews reached the location within a few minutes and extricated Paz from the wreckage, at which point she was pronounced dead at the scene.

The 54-year-old trucker, who was not identified, escaped injury, as did the 46-year-old Riverside woman in the Nissan. Lassig said that the Dodge driver suffered minor injuries but did not require hospitalization. She was not arrested.

All lanes on the northbound side of the freeway were shut down for more than three hours because of the deadly collision.

The investigation is ongoing, and anyone with information was asked to contact the CHP Temecula office at 951-506-2000.

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