At least one person was injured Saturday when a Toyota Tacoma rolled over on southbound Interstate 15 in Murrieta, coming to rest on its side near the right lanes as a good Samaritan rushed in to help the occupants escape. The crash was reported around 11:20 a.m. in the southbound lanes north of French Valley Parkway, snarling traffic on one of Riverside County's busiest freeway corridors.
According to a California Highway Patrol incident log cited by MyNewsLA, a reporting party told dispatchers the Tacoma was found on its side after flipping near the right lanes of the freeway. A separate reporting party said the truck came close to crashing into their own vehicle, which caused the Tacoma to swerve and roll over, the outlet reported.
Bystander Steps In As Occupants Scramble Free
Before CHP units or fire crews arrived, a good Samaritan was already pulling the Tacoma's occupants out of the overturned vehicle, per the same account. It remained unclear exactly how many people were inside the truck at the time of the crash, but a person at the scene told the CHP that everyone had gotten out of the vehicle. The extent of any injuries was also not immediately known.
Not The First Overturned Vehicle On Local Roads This Season
The Murrieta crash follows a string of rollover incidents on Southwest Riverside County roadways in recent months. Just days earlier, two people suffered minor injuries when a vehicle overturned in a two-vehicle crash at a Menifee intersection, according to Patch. That crash, reported shortly after 2 p.m. near Menifee and Scott roads, also drew bystanders who tried to help a trapped motorist get out of the flipped car; one of the injured was taken to a hospital while the other declined transport.
In August, a far more serious rollover shut down all southbound lanes of I-15 near Rainbow Valley Road. Valley News reported that a vehicle involved in a two-car collision with a white Infiniti and a Nissan rolled over multiple times on the northbound side before crossing the center divider into southbound traffic. Two victims suffered life-threatening injuries and were taken away by both air and ground ambulance, with a SigAlert remaining in effect late that Saturday night.
No information has been released about citations, an ongoing investigation, or any roadway closures tied to Saturday's Murrieta crash. The cause remained based on accounts from reporting parties at the scene, with no independent official determination provided.
