Last Updated on July 3, 2022 by CCAR Staff
The driver of a Lexus racing another Lexus in Jurupa Valley late Saturday night died after losing control and plowing head-on into an oncoming Chevy truck, with both vehicles erupting in flames, authorities said.
Law enforcement said both Lexus drivers were racing on a remote section of Sierra Highway, headed south from Fontana into Jurupa Valley approaching the Oak Quarry Golf Club, at around 10 p.m. on Saturday.
Both were driving fast when they came to a curve in the road. The driver of the 2001 Lexus failed to get around the curve and crossed into the opposite lane.
That’s when the Lexus hit a 2017 Chevy Silverado, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department said in a statement. The crash left both drivers trapped in their vehicles as they caught fire.
Firefighters who got there a few minutes later fought both vehicle fires. The Chevy driver was rescued and taken to a hospital with burns and other injuries from the crash.
The firefighters could not get to the Lexus driver. Once they put out the flames, they found the driver and he was declared dead at the scene.
The driver of the other Lexus, a 2019 model, stayed at the scene and was arrested on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter. That driver has not been identified.
The coroner has not yet identified the Lexus driver who died.
