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Fatal head-on under investigation

Todays is : Friday, 29 August 2008

Written by George Gale
Tuesday, 15 July 2008
(California Highway Patrol plans to profile fatal injury victim)…..The C H P says they want to find out why a 44 year old Yuma, Arizona man would allow his pick-up to drift into an on-coming lane. Officer Wes Boerner said investigators would back track the last 24 hours or more to try to determine if the man would have been fatigued, and possibly fell asleep at the wheel. Officials say they cannot release the man’s identity until his family is notified of his death. The man was killed Monday after his Ford Ranger pick-up drifted into the northbound lane of Forrester Road and collided head-on with a big rig north of Evan Hewes Highway. The driver of the big rig, 55-year-old Steven Phillips from Riverside, told the Highway Patrol he saw the pick-up drift into his lane. Phillips reportedly tried to avoid the collision by easing the semi towards the shoulder of the road, but the pick-up continued to drift, eventually colliding head-on with the Peterbilt. The C H P says a third vehicle, traveling behind the semi, was hit by debris from the collision. Boerner says damage to that vehicle was not extensive. Phillip’s rig suffered some damage, but Phillips was not injured.