A 51-year-old Hemet resident died in a traffic collision in the southwest Riverside County community of Winchester on Sunday, June 23, the California Highway Patrol said.
Kimberly Higgins, a passenger, died at Inland Valley Medical Center, about six hours after the 1:38 p.m. crash at Simpson Road and California Avenue, according to the Riverside County Coroner’s Office.
The preliminary results of the investigation indicated that a 2012 Jeep Wrangler being driven by a 17-year-old resident of Romoland was headed south on California when it collided with a Chevrolet Cruze traveling west on Simpson, said Officer Jonathan Torres, a CHP spokesman.
There are stop signs on California but there are no signs or signals on Simpson, Torres said.
“The crash is still under investigation but preliminary investigation indicates that the Jeep failed to stop or yield at the stop sign,” Torres said. “Alcohol or drugs were not a suspected factor in the crash.”
Higgins was a passenger in the Cruze. The driver of that car, a 53-year-old Hemet man, along with a 13-year-old passenger, a girl from San Jacinto, suffered major injuries, Torres said. The driver of the Jeep had minor injuries, Torres said.
