Last Updated on October 24, 2018 by CCAR Staff
Four Riverside residents were killed in Jurupa Valley late Tuesday, Oct. 23, when their car was struck by a vehicle being driven by a person who authorities believe was under the influence of alcohol, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said.
The driver who investigators said caused the crash was in serious condition, a Wednesday news release said. Authorities have not yet released that driver’s name.
The Riverside County Coroner’s Office identified the dead as Marco Aguilar, 23, Clinton Jellsey, 25, Nicholas Cahill, 20, and Daniel Smith, 20.
The collision was reported about 11:45 p.m. on Van Buren Boulevard south of 56th Street.
Preliminary results of the investigation show that a person was driving north on Van Buren when he lost control while turning left onto 56th, a news release said. The car instead entered the southbound lanes, where it collided with a car with four people in it, the release said. All four were pronounced dead at the scene.
Two other vehicles were damaged while trying to avoid the initial collision.
The crash took place at an intersection of the two roadways in an area with a mix of homes, some with horse property, and open fields. Roosters could be heard crowing there early Wednesday.
Railroad tracks run along the east of Van Buren Boulevard in that stretch, but they are distanced from the crash site by a wide dirt strip.
Investigators were at the site until shortly after 8 a.m. Van Buren, which was closed from Jurupa Road to Limonite Avenue for more than eight hours, re-opened after 8:15 a.m. Wednesday.
The Sheriff’s Department asks that anyone with information on the crash call Deputy Ditfurth at 951-955-2600.
