Crime & Safety

Victim in Fatal Crash Near Whitewater Area Identified as San Diego Resident

The crash was reported Thursday morning east of Whitewater Road, according to Cal Fire.

Authorities on Friday identified a San Diego man who died the day before in a single-vehicle crash on Interstate 10 in the east San Gorgonio Pass.

John W. Morris, 81, was the driver of a 2008 Chevrolet who "for unknown reasons veered off roadway and rolled," according to the Riverside County coroner and the California Highway Patrol.

Morris was driving east shortly after 10:15 a.m. Thursday on the eastbound 10, east of the Whitewater Canyon Road overcrossing, when the Chevrolet veered to the right across two lanes and onto the right shoulder, according to the CHP.

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The Chevrolet then "overturned and came to rest on its right side, facing in a westerly direction," a CHP statement said.

Morris was wearing a seat belt but he sustained fatal injuries and he was pronounced dead at the scene, according the CHP and the coroner.

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An 80-year-old woman passenger, also a San Diego resident, sustained minor injuries and she was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs, according to the CHP.

earlier reported the surviving crash victim was critically injured. Her name was not released and an update on her condition was not available.


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