Traffic Collisions

Thoughts and prayers to all involved.

From CHP CAD:

Incident: 0406
Type: SigAlert - Lane Closure
Location: SR18 AT RIM FOREST

8:45AM REF TC L373 -- SIGALERT FOR AT LEAST 6 HRS -- DIVERT TRFC 18 AT DALEY CANYON TO 189, ALSO DIVERTED TO 173^
8:43AM DUE TO TC L373

~~
Incident: 0373
Type: Possible Fatality
Location: SR18 AT RIM FOREST

8:53AM 1039 BILLWAGS ETA DRVN TIME FRM REDLANDS
8:50AM EXCLUSIVE TOW HAS NO TK AVAIL
8:49AM TO ADVISE THE 1185 ON THE 1013 FOGF IN THEAREA
8:46AM CT ETA APPROX 45 - 1 HR
8:46AM SIGALERT LOG 406
8:45AM SIGALERT L406
8:42AM PER 101-S1 SIGALERT FOR 6 HRS NOW WILL DEVERT THE TRF OFF THE 18 AT DALEY CYN TO MOVE THE THE 189 ALSO TRF DIVERT TO HWY 173 SIGALERT PLS
8:41AM 8624 1039, WILL EXPEDITE SOMEONE OUT, STANDBY FOR ETA
8:37AM SEE LINE 22 REF THE LIGHTED SIGN TRK PLEASE
8:27AM 1039 CORONER (SBSO) WILL UPDATE MESSAGE
8:25AM NEED S1 TO GET MORE FILM--ALSO NEED TO KNOW FROM THE CORONER IF FIRE CAN START EXTRACATING THE PTY
8:18AM VERY FOGGY NEED A LIGHTED SIGN BOARD LAKE GREGORY AT THE 18 - TO DIVERT TRF AT DALEY CYN AT THE LAKE GREGORY IF U HAVE THE SIGN AVAILABLE
8:16AM 1039 CORONER -- LEFT MESSAGE
8:14AM 1039 S1 WILL BE RR TO THIS TC FR HIS R
8:12AM IF U CAN START SAN BERN CORONER PLS
7:57AM VEHS COMING IN HOT IN FOG & FIRE IS ATTEMPTING RESUE OP
7:57AM PER 101-32 SBSO IS 97 AND ADVISING A CONFIRMED 1144 10,21 COPIES---21 IS OIC
7:41AM 1039 FIRE
7:39AM SOLO VEH OVER THE SIDE - SUBURBAN ON ITS ROOF ABOUT 100-200 YARDS DOWN THE MOUNTAIN

Incident: 0400
Type: Traffic Collision - No Details
Location: SR18 JWO RIM FOREST

8:47AM CDF REQ 18 AT LAKE GREGORY SHUT DOWN DUE TO TC S IN SAME AREA
8:39AM 1039 DONS
8:38AM 2 VEHS INV - BLKG RDWY
8:38AM PER CDF -- JUST BELOW THE CLOSURE

Please be careful out there - here's another one.

Incident: 0430
Type: Hit and Run - No Injuries
Location: SR18 JWO RIM FOREST

9:16AM 1039 SBPD WITH SUSP INFO
9:16AM VIC WIFE IS ENRT TO TC SCENE
9:16AM PER SBSO - SUSP VEH RED CHEV TAHOE OLDER MODEL W/FOR SALE SIGNS - MAJOR TC DAMAGE
9:11AM VIC S IN TRQ 4D HOND CIVIC / NOT BLKG / REQ UNIT FOR 11-10
9:10AM THIS TC IS FURTHER WEST OF L400

http://www.co.san-bernardino.ca.us/coroner/PressRelease.asp

Coroner case 700702760

My condolences to the family and friends.

Prayers for the family... only 21. So sad.

I knew it had to be bad when I saw that the 18 was closed..people just drive too fast in the fog. How awful for her family.

...in a word........fog....we went dth over the weekend during the pea-soup fog......astounding how many drivers are on the roads with no lights on what so ever......visibility was probably 40 feet or less...very few people slowing down, drifting over the line......it was scary.....

....not to say that this girl was speeding or driving erratically or had her lights off....I'm only saying that fog sure can be dangerous, particularly when cars with their lights off come completely out of no where forty feet away, on your side of the line.....you have only a fraction of a second to respond to these people...

william,
i noticed the same thing.. lots of drivers with no lights on whatsoever..the best decision i made when i came back up the hill was to stay off the rim as much as possible, and drive very slowly!

She was a mountain resident. She was born and raised up here. I am sure she had her lights on. The fog was bad. The roads were slick.

If enough folks would write down the license numbers of folks driving without lights and turn them in it may help. I flash my lights at folks who don't have lights on and many times they just forgot cause they turn them on and the ones who don't I am going to start turning in their numbers!!
Enough already!!

Yesterday, when we went down the hill in the fog, I noticed a number of vehicles without lights on. Ours automatically come on, which is a good thing. I also noticed that a couple of cars kept either their flashers or blinkers on in the really thick parts of the fog. I asked my husband about this, and he told me that many do this to alert the cars behind them or in front of them-so perhaps more could do this too?
I don't think it matters whether one was "born and raised" on this hill or not-it's just a matter of being extra cautious in inclement weather. Not on your cell phone, not reaching for CD's or perhaps being too tired to drive--whatever, we just all need to be extra cautious and not overconfident on these roads. You can live up here for years, but that doesn't mean you have the knowledge of what's up ahead or what's coming up behind you.

Late last Monday coming home from work, I became disorientated, and found myself looking into the headlights, of an upbound car towing a trailer. I was barely moving along trying to locate a line...any line... Thank God they were traveling at a snails pace too!.
On that same curve, I lost both the double yellow and fog line. I drive that stretch of road between 4-10 times daily. Even knowing the road, I had NO idea where I was. Totally blind, with my eyes wide open! Sooooo scarey.
I didn't panic, but believe me, it scared me. With over twenty years on these mountain roads, in all types of weather, the fog, could have been the cause of my demise.
I don't remember a double yellow there,(used to be able to make left turns there onto Pine Ave. (now there's a no left sign there, visible in good weather only). I'm going to double check today for the double yellow, because it there isn't, it should be.

I believe a previous discussion revealed that driving with your hazard lights (or blinkers) on is illegal. If you think about it, hazard lights generally indicate a car pulled over to the side of the road. Blinkers indicate you are turning. Both of these would give false information to the car following and probably wouldn't be a good idea especially in heavy fog conditions where you are just trying to FIND the road.

I didn't say we were driving with our hazard lights on-but that another car was doing so. I'm sure you're correct that driving with them constantly on is more than likely illegal, but it did help make the cars more visible.
Getting the plate numbers of those driving with no lights can be somewhat difficult-especially if it's so foggy that we can't see the plates!!

Does anyone know who VickiW is? I saw her name on the reports of the accidents in Rimforest that occured yesterday-they're posted on this website. I work for a local newspaper and I'm doing a story on the accidents and I'm having a hard time getting any real details. Are the reports she is posting on this site official? Everyone at the paper is praying for Megan's family and we want to find a way to warn motorists about the hazards of driving in the fog. I just came home a while ago,(It wasn't dark yet) and while I was driving on the rim, I saw many cars without their lights on and it's really foggy out there. It's not just common sense to turn your lights on in the fog, it's the law, and I want to make sure to get that point across in my story. I don't understand how anyone could get into their car and not turn the lights on when it's foggy. It just doesn't make sense! Can anyone give me some solid details or point me in the right direction? I've spoken with the fire Chief and others at the department, but haven't been able to get anyone at the CHP yet. Can anyone help me? I would appreciate any leads and tips you may have for driving in the fog too. Thanks!

VickiW is a community service all to herself... we're blessed to have her and you can usually find her in the Running Springs room:)

Thank you for acknowledging her efforts for our safty!

Ms_Kitty - I do not have any details on this particular incident. All that I posted came either from the CHP CAD or the Coroner's website. I have no solid facts.

In general if I hear an incident on scanner I post what I can in the Alerts log and occasionally post links to the info in the Incidents/News thread or the roads thread. There are certain things I will not post in respect for the privacy of the parties involved.

I look forward to reading your article. I hope you find the facts and respect the privacy of the families and friends of this young woman.

Vicki, Thank you so much for your quick response to my message. What is the CHP CAD? And, you can rest assured that I will respect the privacy of Megan's family and friends. I want to inform the community of the dangers of driving in our mountain roads. I know that most people up here are cautious while driving in inclement weather, but there are those few who don't think about their actions as they drive like maniacs. I'm not going to sensationalize that poor girl's death. I commend you for your efforts to keep us informed. Thanks for your hard work, you are much appreciated!!

Ms_Kitty - the CHP CAD is the traffic log. Here is the link:

http://cad.chp.ca.gov/

This information is only on their site for a short time so I copy it over to our incident logs. Additionally some incidents are copied over to this site in the Alerts tab.

http://www.rimoftheworld.net/alerts

You can tell the difference between an alert copied from the CHP site and an incident that a volunteer posts based on the "Alerts Team" written beside the incident type.

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By the way, there's another fatality on the SR79. It's still posted on the CHP CAD. It's possible fog played a part in this one as well.

1367 5:59PM
Possible Fatality
SR79 JSO THE DUMP
San Gorgonio Pass