Last Updated on May 12, 2022 by CCAR Staff
The driver of an SUV died and three people in a school bus suffered minor injuries Thursday morning, May 12, when the vehicles collided near Lake Elsinore, authorities said.
The crash was reported at 6:32 a.m. on Riverside Street near Highway 74. The driver of the 2009 Chevrolet HHR had to be cut out of the SUV, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department said. That man, identified by the Riverside County Coroner’s Office as 57-year-old Anthony Ramirez of Lake Elsinore, died at Inland Valley Medical Center, the California Highway Patrol said.
Two students, an 8-year-old boy and a 5-year-old girl, according to the CHP, were hospitalized with minor injuries and were later released, said Melissa Valdez, a spokeswoman for the school district. The bus driver was not injured, Valdez said. He is a 69-year-old Wildomar resident, the CHP said.
A 20-year-old passenger on the bus also had minor injuries, the CHP said.
The bus was making a left turn from northbound Riverside Street onto westbound Highway 74 when it was broadsided by the eastbound SUV, the CHP said. The intersection is controlled by stoplights, and investigators are trying to determine which vehicle ran a red light, said Officer Mike Lassig, a CHP spokesman.
Traffic Collision with Extrication in Lake Elsinore RPT @ 6:32 AM- SR Hwy 74 w/of Riverside St. Firefighters are on scene of a collision involving an SUV and a bus. #RiversideIC pic.twitter.com/nuMrnqVoss
— CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department (@CALFIRERRU) May 12, 2022
