3 killed, 6 injured in multi-car crash on I-10 in Whitewater area

Three people were killed and six others were injured in a multi-car crash on the Interstate 10 Freeway in the Whitewater area. 

The crash unfolded just before 7:30 a.m. Sunday on eastbound lanes of I-10 near Haugen Lehmann Way.

California Highway Patrol investigators have determined that the collision occurred when a Tesla Model 3 and a Chevrolet Suburban, both driving in the No. 2 lane of the freeway, crashed into each other. 

As a result, the Suburban slammed into the center divider and overturned. Six of the occupants, all of whom investigators learned were a family from Anaheim, were ejected during the crash, and one was partially ejected. Police do not believe any of them were buckled in at the point of collision. 

Three females inside of the Suburban, aged 10, 12 and 31, were pronounced dead at the scene. Four others suffered severe injuries, including 3-year-old girl, a 7-year-old girl, an 11-year-old girl and a 15-year-old boy. The driver, a 39-year-old man, and another adult passenger suffered moderate injuries. 

"This was a traumatic scene, with injuries of young people and a mother, on Mother's Day," said CHP Officer Jason Montez. "It's heart-wrenching."

A family member driving separately from those in the Suburban, says they were headed to Indio. 

The driver of the Tesla, a 31-year-old Indio man, was uninjured and declined care at the scene. 

Of the injured, two patients were transported to the hospital via air ambulance with major injuries; two patients were transported via ground ambulance with moderate injuries.

Six miles of eastbound lanes of I-10 Freeway were closed for eight hours at Main Street until around 3 p.m.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation.