The fatal collision occurred on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 10, approximately 3.05 miles east of Dillon Road, at approximately 10:01 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Coachella, CA – The authorities have released the identities of the three people who were killed in a two-vehicle crash on Interstate 10 in Coachella Tuesday night, according to the California Highway Patrol.
The Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner identified the deceased as 39-year-old Meliton Perez-Dominguez and 39-year-old Lizeth Duran Martinez, both of Phoenix, Arizona, and 71-year-old Guillermo Ocampo Bahena of Orange.
The fatal collision occurred on the eastbound lanes of Interstate 10, approximately 3.05 miles east of Dillon Road, at approximately 10:01 p.m. on Tuesday, April 14, 2026, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Preliminary investigation indicates that a Toyota Camry, operated by Ocampo Bahena, was traveling westbound in the eastbound lanes when it collided head-on with a Honda Accord occupied by Perez-Dominguez and Duran Martinez.
Perez-Dominguez, Duran Martinez, and Ocampo Bahena were all pronounced dead at the scene. No other injuries were reported, and no arrests were made following the Coachella crash.
The California Highway Patrol stated that alcohol and drugs were not suspected to be factors in the crash. The reason why the Toyota was traveling the wrong way remains unknown.
Original Story
Coachella, CA – Three people are dead after a head-on collision involving a wrong-way driver on Interstate 10 in Coachella on Tuesday night.
According to the California Highway Patrol, the wreck happened at around 10 p.m. on April 14, east of Dillon Road.
Preliminary reports indicate that a 71-year-old Orange man was driving a Toyota Camry westbound in the eastbound lanes of I-10 when he collided head-on with an oncoming Honda Accord driven by a 50-year-old woman from Phoenix, Arizona.
Both drivers and a male passenger in the Honda were all declared deceased at the scene.
According to the CHP, alcohol and drugs were not suspected to have played a role in the incident. The identities of the involved parties were not immediately available.
The California Highway Patrol officers are still working to establish the cause of the accident. Anyone with information is urged to contact 760-772-5300.