AGUA DULCE – A passenger was seriously injured and two drivers sustained minor injuries on Monday when a vehicle plowed into a Caltrans truck along the side of the 14 Freeway, authorities said.
The injury collision occurred around 4:10 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1, on the southbound Antelope Valley Freeway, just south of Escondido Canyon Road, according to a California Highway Patrol report.
Rickie Grace, 31, of Palmdale, was speeding southbound on SR-14 in a 2008 Ford, while a Caltrans truck was traveling on the right shoulder “at a slow speed, stopping to pick up trash,” the CHP report states.
“For unknown reasons, Grace turned his vehicle from its direct course of travel onto the right shoulder and collided with the rear [of the Caltrans] vehicle,” the CHP report states.
“Both vehicles continued southeasterly across lanes. Grace’s vehicle spun and collided with the concrete k-rail, where it came to rest,” the CHP report states.
The Caltrans vehicle came to rest in the HOV lane, and its driver — 38-year-old Jori Thompson of Chatsworth — sustained minor injuries, according to the CHP report.
Grace also sustained minor injuries in the collision. A passenger in his vehicle, 22-year-old Marlon Fatheree of Lancaster, sustained major injuries in the collision, according to the CHP report.
“Due to a Caltrans vehicle being involved and a major injury occurring, Southern MAIT responded to investigate,” the CHP report states. “The cause of this collision is under investigation and alcohol does not seem to be a factor.”
The CHP initially shut down only the carpool lane on the southbound Antelope Valley Freeway. However, the closure was extended to all southbound lanes and a SigAlert was declared at 6:04 p.m. Monday, CHP officials said.
The freeway’s southbound lanes remained closed until around 12:30 a.m. Tuesday to finish the cleanup and investigation, CHP officials said.
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Mike says
Probably did it on purpose to get a big settlement from Cal-Trans. I saw R. Rex chasing the ambulance in his Hummer to sign him up as a client.