Crime & Safety
Coroner ID's Victim Of Fatal Desert Crash As North Carolina Man
A wrong way driver struck and killed the man, identified as a Stokesdale, NC resident on the Desert Hot Springs road.
DESERT HOT SPRINGS, CA Authorities Thursday identified a North Carolina man who was killed in a head-on collision in Desert Hot Springs.
The Riverside County coroner's office identified the man as 49-year- old Gildardo Gonzalez Luna of Stokesdale, North Carolina.
At around 2:40 p.m. Wednesday, an unidentified 42-year-old man from Victorville was driving a 2013 Ford Fiesta westbound on North Indian Canyon Drive near Worsley Road when he crossed over and began to drive the wrong way, according to California Highway Patrol public information officer David Torres.
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Torres said that when the Ford crossed the painted double solid yellow lines, it crashed head-on into a 2007 Honda Civic that was driving eastbound on the same road.
"The driver of the of the Ford sustained major injuries and was transported to the Desert Regional Medical Center," Torres said in a statement. "The driver of the Honda was pronounced deceased at the scene."
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Gonzalez was pronounced dead at 2:56 p.m. Wednesday.
The driver of the Ford, whom authorities did not identify by name, was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence, according to Torres. It was not immediately known if he was booked into a jail facility.
Anyone with information on the fatal crash was asked to call CHP investigating officer Carrillo at 760-770-5300.