Five Dead, Nine Hurt in Crash Near Blythe
An investigation was continuing Sunday into an accident that left five people dead and nine injured when a tractor-trailer struck a van on Interstate 10 near Blythe late Friday night.
California Highway Patrol Sgt. Mike Kingston said it did not appear that drugs or alcohol played a role in the crash.
Thirteen people, related by marriage, were in the 15-passenger van heading to Mexico.
The accident happened 12 miles west of Blythe at 11:55 p.m. Friday as the driver of the tractor-trailer attempted to pass the van.
Truck driver James Jolley told police the van was traveling about 35 mph as it weaved between two lanes. The van cut in front of Jolley as he tried to pass, Kingston said.
The dead were identified as the driver, Guerilmona Gloria Winter, of Lancaster; Gabriela Rodriguez-Gallo, 20, of Lancaster; her mother, Maria Rodriguez, 35, and father, Salvador Rodriguez, 44, both of Lancaster; and Andres Delgadillo, 55, of Pacoima.
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