DESERT CENTER (CNS) - Three people were taken to the hospital Friday with varying injuries sustained after an SUV crashed into a water attenuator that went into a separate lane on Interstate 10 and caused a tractor-trailer to also collide with it.
Officers responded to westbound Interstate 10 near the Corn Springs Exit shortly before 7 a.m. Friday to a report about a collision, according to the California Highway Patrol.
An SUV driven by a man and also occupied by his wife and two kids was westbound approaching a construction zone when it crashed into a water attenuator -- a water-filled container used as a roadway barrier. On impact, the vehicle spun out of control and pushed the attenuator into a lane, where a tractor-trailer subsequently hit it, Blythe CHP officer Knutson told City News Service.
The woman was flown to Desert Regional Medical Center by Mercy Air with trauma to her face and pain to her chest caused by air-bag deployment and striking the windshield, CHP investigating officer Anastasi told CNS.
The driver of the SUV was taken to a hospital with minor lacerations to his head and face, Anastasi added. The two kids were uninjured and taken to the hospital with him.
The truck driver sustained a minor injury and was also taken to a hospital, Anastasi said.
The SUV driver said he believed that the left lane was closed and by the time he attempted to make a lane change to the right he didn't have enough time to avoid hitting the center median, where the attenuator was, according to Anastasi.
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