A classic Chevrolet Monte Carlo that had been displayed earlier that day at a Route 66 car show crashed into a tractor-trailer on Seventh Avenue on Saturday afternoon, injuring the two men inside the vintage car. The crash was reported at about 3:21 p.m. on Seventh Avenue between Nisqualli Road and Sitting Bull Street, and the adult driver suffered the most serious injuries of the two occupants.
According to witnesses cited by VVNG, the Monte Carlo was traveling on Sitting Bull Street and turned onto Seventh Avenue when the driver lost control. The car crashed into the rear driver-side tire area of the tractor-trailer, and the impact was forceful enough to knock a tire loose from the big rig, sending it rolling into the roadway near the classic car. The tractor-trailer driver stopped immediately after the impact, remained at the scene, and cooperated with the investigation, per the same account.
Photos shared with the outlet showed the Monte Carlo had been displayed earlier that day at the Route 66 Car Show and Block Party in Old Town Victorville. The event permitted up to 200 registered vehicles built in 1978 or earlier, according to the City of Victorville. The show was held earlier that day, before the crash was reported.
A Historic Road Meets Modern Traffic
Saturday's collision occurred on Seventh Avenue in Victorville, where a decades-old car collided with a modern tractor-trailer.
State law has increasingly protected the kind of cruising and car-show culture that brought the Monte Carlo to Old Town in the first place. Assembly Bill 436, which took effect January 1, 2024, repealed local authorities' power to ban cruising or lowriding and legalized car cruising on public streets statewide, per Hagerty. Separately, California Vehicle Code Section 21804 requires drivers entering or crossing a highway from a side road to yield the right-of-way to approaching traffic that poses an immediate hazard, according to Justia. Witnesses told VVNG that the Monte Carlo entered Seventh Avenue from Sitting Bull Street just before the crash.
Extrication, Closure, and an Ongoing Investigation
Fire crews extricated the adult driver from the Monte Carlo, and both occupants were transported from the scene by ground ambulances for treatment; their conditions were not available at the time of VVNG's report. Seventh Avenue was closed in both directions during the investigation, and Victorville City Public Works assisted with a hard road closure while deputies worked the scene, later responding again once emergency personnel cleared the area and patients had been transported. The San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department has served as Victorville's contract police agency since 1962, in what the source describes as its first contract-city operation, per the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.
The investigation remains ongoing, and additional information is expected to be released as it becomes available, the report notes. The report does not include details about other recent Seventh Avenue crashes or Victorville collision rankings or counts.
Vintage Cars, Modern Hazards
Older vehicles like the Monte Carlo were built in earlier eras of vehicle design. Classic cars from earlier decades can differ from modern vehicles in their occupant-protection features, including the equipment used during a heavy collision with a tractor-trailer's wheel assembly. Research on vehicle safety is available via PubMed.
Saturday's crash came on the same weekend that the region marked the 100th anniversary of Route 66 with a slate of celebrations. Whether mechanical failure, speed, or another factor contributed to the Monte Carlo's loss of control has not been determined, and the conditions of the two injured occupants remain unknown as the investigation continues.
