Hemet Expressway Horror: Turn-Lane Crash Kills Dad and 9-Year-Old Son

A routine Tuesday evening commute on the Ramona Expressway turned tragic when a three-vehicle collision at Lincoln Avenue near Hemet left a father and his 9-year-old son dead and sent three other people to the hospital. The wreck unfolded on a heavily traveled stretch of county roadway, as emergency crews rushed in, shut down lanes, and began the painstaking work of tending to victims and piecing together what happened.

According to CBS Los Angeles, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Coroner identified the deceased as 41-year-old Nicolas McWhirter and his 9-year-old son, Dominic. Both were pronounced dead at the scene. Authorities believe the occupants of their Nissan Versa were properly restrained at the time of the crash. CBS reported the collision occurred at about 6 p.m.

The California Highway Patrol’s preliminary account, provided to Patch, states that an 18-year-old Hemet woman driving a Nissan Rogue was heading north in the left-turn lane of Lincoln Avenue, preparing to turn onto Ramona Expressway, when her vehicle struck the Nissan Versa. The impact sent the Versa spinning into the westbound lanes of the expressway, where it was hit by a 34-year-old Hemet woman driving a Ford Mustang Mach-E. CHP Officer Rick Palomera told Patch that investigators are still working to determine whether drugs or alcohol played any role.

MyNewsLA reports that the driver and passenger of the Rogue, along with the Mustang’s driver, were transported to Riverside University Health System with injuries described as minor to moderate. No arrests or citations have been announced, and the CHP continues to process the scene and review physical evidence. Officials have not released additional details about the conditions of the hospitalized patients.

Investigation and Witness Appeal

The investigation is still in its early stages, and officers are looking for any extra eyes that might help them reconstruct the crash. The CHP has asked anyone who witnessed the collision, or who has dash-cam footage from the area around the time of the incident, to contact the San Gorgonio Pass office at 951-846-5300, according to CBS Los Angeles.

The Riverside County Sheriff’s Office Coroner has assigned case numbers 2026-04358 and 2026-04359 to the deaths, as noted by Patch.

Why This Stretch Matters

Ramona Expressway is not just another busy road; it is a corridor that transportation planners have already flagged as high risk. The Riverside County Transportation Commission reported 14 fatalities and 17 severe injuries along the Mid County Parkway Ramona Expressway segment between 2017 and 2022. In response, RCTC approved major safety upgrades, including lane widening, a raised median, and other protective features, with construction scheduled to begin in early 2026. The goal is to reduce exactly the kind of intersection dangers seen in Tuesday’s crash.

The CHP says the investigation is ongoing and that additional findings will be released as they become available. Anyone with information about the collision is urged to contact the CHP San Gorgonio Pass office at 951-846-5300.