By Scott Limpus
March 4, 2019
At 6:13 pm on Monday, emergency crews were dispatched to a solo vehicle traffic collision with possible injuries on State Route 18 at the west entrance of Snow Valley Ski Resort. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) and Running Springs Fire Department (RSFD) arrived on-scene and found a red Kia about 15 feet over-the-side of the highway, partially submerged in a pond. An older male was still in the vehicle, reporting minor injuries, and requiring assistance to get out of the vehicle and up the embankment.
The Kia was traveling eastbound on SR-18 towards Big Bear, and for an unknown reason, left the roadway and hit a snow berm, launching him into a shallow pond. Although the temperature was in the mid-30’s, there was no evidence of moisture on the roadway. A passerby who witnessed the accident called 9-1-1 and attempted to rescue the driver. Fortunately only the front of the vehicle was under-water and the driver was able to move over to the passenger side of the vehicle where extrication was accomplished without having to get into the water. Medic Ambulance 50 transported the victim to a local hospital for treatment.
A tow truck was able to pull the vehicle out the pond without any contamination to the water. SR-18 remained open and commuter traffic was not affected. CHP is investigating the cause of the accident, but speed is likely to be a contributing factor.
