3 in Anaheim family dead, 6 injured in crash on 10 Freeway near Palm Springs

Two girls and a woman were killed and three other children and a teenager suffered major injuries Sunday morning in a collision on the eastbound 10 Freeway near Palm Springs, the California Highway Patrol said.

All the dead and injured were family members from Anaheim traveling in a 2001 Chevrolet Suburban. The driver and lone occupant of the other vehicle, a 2022 Tesla Model 3, was not reported injured, said Officer Jason Montez, a CHP spokesman.

A total of nine people were in the Suburban, which had seat belts for eight, Montez said. One person had a moderate injury and one had a minor injury. Six were ejected and one person was partially ejected when the SUV overturned.

Two people were in the front row of seats, four were in the middle row that had seat belts for three, and three people were in the back row, Montez said.

“Preliminary information indicates not all occupants in the Chevrolet Suburban were using safety restraint systems or seatbelts,” the officer said.

Other details, such as whether child-safety seats were properly used and whether the Tesla’s self-driving feature was engaged, were under investigation, Montez said.

The people who died were girls ages 10 and 12 and a 31-year-old woman. The four surviving children — girls ages 3, 7 and 11, and a 15-year-old boy — had major injuries. The 39-year-old driver had moderate injuries and the 41-year-old right front passenger had minor injuries, Montez said.

The occupants of the Suburban included parents, their children and some cousins, Montez said. He could not immediately confirm where they were headed. None of their names were publicly announced as of late Sunday afternoon.

The collision was reported at about 7:24 a.m. west of Haugen-Lehmann Way in the Whitewater area. Results from the preliminary investigation suggest that the Suburban was in the No. 2 lane and the Tesla, driven by a 31-year-old male resident of Indio, was in the No. 3 lane when for unknown reasons they collided. The driver of the Suburban lost control and crashed into the center divider, Montez said.

An air ambulance carried two of the injured victims to a trauma center. Three others were driven in an ambulance to a hospital.

At least some of the eastbound lanes were closed until the freeway fully reopened at 3:31 p.m. Traffic was taken off at Main Street and re-routed along Railroad Avenue. Motorists resumed their trip on the freeway at Haugen-Lehmann.

The CHP asks anyone with information on the collision to call 916-407-7511.