Three people were killed and seven others were injured in a multi-car crash on Interstate 10 in the Whitewater area.
The crash happened shortly before 7:30 a.m. Sunday in the eastbound lanes of I-10 near Haugen Lehmann Way.
Investigators have determined the collision occurred when a Tesla Model 3 and a Chevrolet Suburban, both traveling in the #2 lane of the freeway, collided with each other.
As a result, the Suburban hit the center divider and overturned. Six of the occupants, who investigators learned were a family from Anaheim, were ejected during the crash, and one was partially ejected. Police don’t believe either of them was stuck at the point of the collision.
Three women inside the Suburban, ages 10, 12 and 31, were pronounced dead at the scene. Four other people were seriously injured, including a 3-year-old girl, a 7-year-old girl, an 11-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy. The driver, a 39-year-old man, suffered minor injuries.
The driver and passenger of the Tesla were not injured and declined treatment at the scene.
Of the injured, two patients were taken to hospital by air ambulance with serious injuries; two patients were transported by ground ambulance with moderate injuries.
Eastbound lanes of I-10 were closed for eight hours on Main Street until 3 p.m.
The cause of the accident remains under investigation.
