Five Injured and Elderly Woman, Man Killed in I-10 Rollover Crash

An 82-year-old woman and a 33-year-old man were killed and five other people were injured when the woman lost control of her 2000 Dodge Durango on Interstate 10 Freeway in Mecca and it flipped over several times, ending up 100 feet south of the roadway, a California Highway Patrol officer said today.

The accident occurred on the eastbound Interstate 10 west of Cottonwood Springs Road at 5:05 p.m. Sunday, said CHP Sgt. D. Tafoya.

"The Dodge, which was equipped to hold seven passengers, was occupied by four adults and five minors," Tafoya said."For an unknown reason," the 82- year-old driver lost control of the SUV.

"The Dodge left the roadway and overturned an unknown number of times before coming to rest on its wheels facing in a westerly direction approximately 100 feet south of the roadway," the sergeant said.

"Multiple parties were ejected," Tafoya said. The driver and a 33-year- old man were pronounced dead at the scene. A 57-year-old man and a child were airlifted to Desert Regional Medical Center with major injuries. A 33-year-old woman passenger and two children were transported to a hospital by ground ambulance with minor injuries, Tafoya said.

Everyone in the Dodge was from Glendale, Arizona, the sergeant said.

The incident remains under investigation, Tafoya said.

— City News Service.