A motorist was fatally injured Saturday night in a two-vehicle crash near Mecca, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The crash occurred shortly before 11 p.m. Jan. 11 at 62nd Avenue and Buchanan Street, east of the 86 and the 111, CHP Officer Mike Radford said Monday.
The deceased was identified by the coroner as Jose Marquez-Valencia, 32, of Mecca, who was driving a sedan that got broadsided by a sport utility.
Radford gave the following account of the crash in a statement:
A Ford Thunderbird was southbound on Buchanan Street, and a Ford Explorer was westbound on 62nd Avenue, when the driver of the Thunderbird failed to stop at the intersection's stop sign, Radford said.
The front of the Explorer struck the left side of the Thunderbird, causing major damage to both vehicles, Radford said.
The driver of Thunderbird, Marquez-Valencia, sustained fatal injuries as a result of the collision, according to Radford and the coroner.
The driver of the Explorer, a 49-year-old man from Mecca, was transported to JFK Memorial Hospital in Indio "with complaint of pain," Radford said.
The intersection where the crash occurred is controlled by one stop sign for southbound traffic on Buchanan, Radford said.
Anyone with more information was urged to call CHP Indio at (760) 772-8900.
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