Last Updated on July 14, 2018 by CCAR Staff
A woman was killed early Saturday, July 14, and a man was arrested on suspicion of DUI after his Mazda was in a collision with a big rig she was riding in that overturned on the 60 Freeway in Ontario and caught fire, officials said.
Veronica Hernandez, 46, of Ontario, was killed in the crash about 2:50 a.m. in the westbound lanes west of Grove Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol.
She was in the passenger seat of a semi-truck carrying metal pillars that for unknown reasons was in a collision with the 2007 Mazda, CHP officers said in a news release.
“The semi veered across all lanes and struck the concrete center divider and burst into flames,” the release said.
Metal pillars spilled across westbound lanes and the Mazda veered across the freeway and a dirt shoulder, colliding with a sound wall, officials said. Witnesses said cars were striking the pillars.
A 45-year-old man at the wheel of the semi told witnesses that his wife was still inside, according to the CHP log. Hernandez was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.
The man was treated at a hospital for burns to his leg and arm and low blood pressure, according to the CHP.
The driver of the Mazda, Elvis Hernandez Tellez, 23, of Ontario, was treated for a minor injury at a hospital, then booked into the West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga on suspicion of felony driving under the influence, authorities said.
All westbound lanes of the 60 Freeway west of Grove Avenue were closed for about three hours. By 9:15 a.m., they had all reopened, officials said.
