Rain in Pass and Snow in Mountains Contribute to Wrecks

Rain and wind swept through the San Gorgonio Pass late Sunday and early Monday, and the same storm blanketed parts of the high mountains in fresh snow.

Steady downpours drenched roads in Beaumont and Banning, and the California Highway Patrol reported at least a half-dozen collisions on Interstate 10 in the Pass between 10 p.m. and 1 a.m.

Just after 11 p.m., a Riverside County sheriff's deputy was involved in a crash or collision on Highway 243 just south of Pine Cove Road, a CHP dispatcher said in a phone interview.

A CHP officer who went to the scene advised it was snowing in the area, the dispatcher said. A CHP officer remained at the scene after midnight. It was not clear whether anyone was injured.

As of 1 a.m. Monday, chains or snow tires were required on the 243 from Mountain Center north to the National Forest boundary at Twin Pines, according to Caltrans.