Last Updated on March 9, 2018 by CCAR Staff
The San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department on Friday identified the three remaining victims in the fiery 10 Freeway crash in February that killed five people.
Those identified Friday were Linda Crowell-Thomsen, 55, of Menifee; Miguel Martinez-Medina, 63, of Los Angeles; and Edgar Kunkler, 63, of West Covina.
Two victims had been previously identified as Jerry D. Thomsen, 59, of Menifee and Twentynine Palms resident Duddley White, 73.
The deadly collision occurred Feb. 16 when Michael R. Coley, 43, of Riverside, was driving a 2015 Mack Industries cement pumper truck west on the freeway, according to the California Highway Patrol. He was approaching Riverside Avenue when, for reasons still under investigation, Coley veered across the westbound lanes in the truck, crashing through the center wood and metal guardrail and onto the eastbound side of the freeway. He collided with multiple vehicles, creating a traffic snarl that forced the closure of both sides of the freeway for nearly a day and prompted motorists to detour around the accident scene. Traffic backed up for miles.
Earlier this week, CHP released information on Thomsen, but said at that time the department was unable to positively identify the victims via fingerprints, so it’s now trying to identify them through dental records.
“The circumstances of the collision presented specific challenges to establish scientific identification of the persons involved,” according to a Sheriff’s Department news release.
Coley, the driver of the Mack cement truck, suffered moderate injuries in the accident and was treated at a hospital.
Because the incident was so severe, CHP officials estimate that the investigation could go on for months.
