Suspected DUI driver dies, passenger critically injured in 15 Freeway crash in Wildomar

A man suspected of driving under the influence died in a three-vehicle crash on the 15 Freeway in Wildomar and a passenger was hospitalized with major injuries Saturday morning, Aug. 5, authorities said.

The 23-year-old Mission Hills man was driving a Hyundai Sonata sedan southbound on the freeway at a high rate of speed when he rear-ended a Nissan Rogue SUV just south of Wildomar Trail just before 12:45 a.m., CHP officials said in a statement.

The crash caused the sedan to become disabled and it stopped in the middle lane with all the lights out, the CHP said.

A woman driving a Nissan Armada SUV didn’t see the car in the middle of the roadway and crashed into it, causing both the suspected impaired driver and his passenger, a 24-year-old Vista woman, to be ejected, CHP officials said. Both were found near the center divider.

Officers said they believe the two occupants of the sedan had unbuckled their seatbelts between the two collisions.

The woman was taken to Inland Valley Medical Center for major injuries, CHP officials said. The driver of the Armada was also hospitalized for treatment of minor injuries.

CHP officials did not say how many people were in the Rogue or the extent of their injuries.

Cal Fire firefighters also responded to the crash and said six people were taken to local hospitals, including one with critical injuries, three with moderate injuries and two with minor injuries.