Temecula Crash Leaves 1 Dead

A 25-year-old Fallbrook man who police say crashed into a concrete mixer truck in Temecula Tuesday morning, has died.

Cort Hedrick died at Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar at 1:40 p.m. Tuesday, the Riverside County Coroner’s Office is reporting.

At around 11 a.m. Tuesday, Hedrick was driving a 1999 SUV “at a high rate of speed” northbound on Anza Road, north of DePortola Road, according to a report from the California Highway Patrol. A cement mixer truck was stopped ahead, just south of Calle Campos, with its hazard lights on, the report stated.

Hedrick “continued at a high rate of speed with no attempt of stopping behind the cement mixer,” the report written by CHP Officer Thurston indicated.

Hedrick struck the left rear side of the cement mixer. 

“After impact, the SUV veered to the left, across the southbound lane, ejecting [Hedrick] onto the dirt shoulder at the west edge of the roadway,” Thurston reported.

According to the coroner’s office, Hedrick was not wearing a safety belt.

“The SUV continued over an embankment, rolled over within a field and came to rest on its side,” Thurston said.

Moments after coming to rest, the SUV's engine compartment caught on fire and was extinguished by the cement mixer driver and some utility workers who witnessed the crash, Thurston added. 

The 59-year-old cement mixer driver, whose identity was not released, suffered minor injuries, Thurston reported.