Drivers who called 911 near the Tennessee Street off-ramp on westbound Interstate 10 in Redlands initially thought they were looking at a mannequin dumped along the shoulder. It was a body — that of 27-year-old Redlands resident Christian Gillespie, struck and killed by a vehicle whose driver fled the scene and remains unidentified.
The California Highway Patrol's San Bernardino office was notified around 11:23 a.m. on September 2 of a pedestrian down along the right shoulder and dirt embankment where westbound I-10 connects to westbound State Route 210, according to onscene.tv. CHP officers who responded confirmed it was a vehicle-versus-pedestrian crash with fatal injuries, and Gillespie was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency personnel.
Investigators believe Gillespie had actually been struck several hours before those calls came in, with dispatch logging reports between roughly 10:27 a.m. and 11:23 a.m., according to Patch. That gap has left investigators trying to reconstruct not just who was driving, but exactly when the crash happened.
Investigators Turn to License Plate Cameras for Leads
The vehicle and driver involved remain outstanding, per CHP, and officers are now checking nearby Flock Safety automated license plate reader cameras in hopes of identifying the car that struck Gillespie and never stopped, the same Patch report notes. The Redlands Police Department already relies on that camera network across city corridors to generate investigative leads for regional law enforcement, according to a Flock Safety account of the program.
The active death investigation forced CHP to shut down the westbound I-10 transition ramp to westbound State Route 210, along with the University Street off-ramp, causing heavy traffic congestion while crews worked the scene. Witnesses with any information are asked to contact Officer C. Rossi, badge number 22906, at the CHP San Bernardino Area office at (909) 383-4227.
A Familiar and Dangerous Pattern on Local Roads
Gillespie's death adds to a grim regional pattern. The Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario metro area logged 797 pedestrian deaths between 2018 and 2022, making it the 12th deadliest metro in the country for pedestrians, per data cited by KESQ. San Bernardino County alone recorded 102 pedestrian deaths and injuries in 2021, ranking 6th worst among 60 comparable California counties, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety.
The same state data show the county recorded 185 fatal and injury hit-and-run crashes in 2021, the third-highest total among those 60 counties — a reminder that drivers fleeing after striking someone is not a rare occurrence in this stretch of the Inland Empire.
What Happens If the Driver Is Found
Should investigators track down the vehicle and driver, California law leaves little room for excuses. Under Vehicle Code Section 20001, fleeing the scene of a crash that causes death or permanent, serious injury is a felony punishable by two to four years in state prison and fines of up to $10,000, according to FindLaw. Legal analysts note that charge applies whether or not the driver was even at fault for the initial collision, since California law requires any motorist involved in a crash to stop and render aid, per Eisner Gorin LLP.
It's a legal reality that has played out before in this corner of San Bernardino County. A fatal Yucaipa hit-and-run involved a Redlands driver, along with a Redlands crash that left two fighting for their lives after a driver fled, and a Moreno Valley resident charged in the fatal hit-and-run of a bicyclist in nearby Loma Linda. As of now, why Gillespie was on the freeway embankment, the description of the vehicle involved, and the precise moment of impact all remain unanswered, with CHP describing the investigation as ongoing.
