Six dead, four hospitalized after fiery three-car crash in Riverside County

Six people were killed and four others were hospitalized in a fiery three-car crash in the Inland Empire on Monday, all of which happened when a driver tried to go around other cars by driving into oncoming lanes of traffic. 

The crash happened at around 2:20 p.m. at the intersection of Bridge Street and Gilman Springs Road, according to the Riverside County Fire Department. 

Firefighters arrived and found three cars on fire, with flames that had already extended into the vegetation off the side of the road, the department's statement said. 

Six people were pronounced dead at the scene, crews said. None have yet been identified, but police say that two of the victims were children under 10 years old. 

Investigators say that the driver, still not identified, was driving westbound on Gilman Springs Road when he tried to pass other cars traveling slower by steering into eastbound lanes. 

"This was a horrific crash with devastating consequences for families, and it could havre been avoided," said California Highway Patrol Captain Gil Campa. "That is the hardest fact to accept in this situation."

Paramedics rushed four others to Riverside University Medical Center in Moreno Valley for treatment on injuries ranging from minor to serious, firefighters said. 

Crews were able to extinguish the brush fire within an hour, thanks to some help from Cal Fire aircraft. The blaze was fully contained by 4 p.m. after consuming about four acres. 

Riverside County Sheriff's Office deputies and California Highway Patrol officers shut down both sides of Gilman Springs Road while the wreckage was cleared from the roadway. The closure spanned Alessandro Boulevard to the north and Highway 79 to the south. 

It's unclear when the road was expected to reopen. 

Investigators are working to determine what caused the crash.