California Highway Patrol officials are searching for the driver of an Infiniti that was caught on video causing a violent crash that left a BMW pinned under a big rig on the 10 Freeway in the Colton area earlier this week.
The collision occurred about 3 p.m. Wednesday on the westbound 10 between the Riverside and Pepper avenues exits, according to a Facebook post from Alan Parcero, whose mother was driving the BMW.
Madis Tolentino, the driver of the BMW, told KTLA she was grateful to come out of the crash alive.
On the day of the crash, she had left work and was driving home to Ontario when she encountered two cars — including the Infiniti. She said they appeared to be racing.
“From my perspective, when I was seeing them both kind of trying to get to the first spot I guess, in my heart, I believe that they were racing,” she said.
Dashcam video captured the terrifying moment when Tolentino’s BMW was cut off and side-swiped by the Infiniti, causing it to hit another sedan and veer into a nearby big rig. Her car ended up trapped beneath the semi’s trailer and was dragged for a short distance.
“Seeing it made me realize, even more so, how grateful I am to come out of something like that,” she said.
The sedan that the BMW had careened into stopped next to the center divider.
Meanwhile, the Infiniti driver continued on and left the scene, according to the footage. Parcero also stated in the Facebook post that the driver fled and didn’t return.
Jose Rios, another person who was driving on the freeway at the time, captured video of the crash on a dash camera that had been placed on the rear of his vehicle.
In a phone interview Friday morning, Rios told KTLA he saw the Infiniti weaving in and out of traffic and driving at a high rate of speed before the violent collision.
“This guy … has regards for nobody on the freeway,” he said.
Once Rios saw what happened, he had his girlfriend dial 911 and report the crash. He also stopped and pulled over to assist the BMW driver.
“She was pretty worked up, she was screaming and crying,” Rios said. “Once she got out the car, she immediately ran to the truck driver and hugged him. She was holding on to the truck driver. I ran and I asked her, ‘Is anybody else in the car? Is anybody else in the car?’ There’s smoke everywhere.”
Tolentino suffered minor injuries, including cuts and bruises, and told KTLA she’s also been experiencing a fair amount of anxiety since the crash.
However, she said she was comforted by how many people stopped to help in the aftermath.
“I saw a lot of people get out of their cars, came to me, made sure I was OK, and then went to the car, made sure nobody else was in the car,” Tolentino said.
Rios provided her with the video from his dash camera, which her family uploaded to Facebook.
“Thank you Jose for catching this evidence on your dash cam and pulling over to help aid my mom, I appreciate your kindness. It means a lot to our family,” a grateful Parcero wrote in the post.
CHP confirmed Friday that they found the Infiniti sometime after the crash; they have not yet located the driver, although they believe they know who was behind the wheel at the time.
No additional details were immediately provided by the agency.
