Three construction workers were killed early Friday, September 25, 2026, when a big rig crashed into a highway work area on eastbound Interstate 10 near Intake Boulevard in Blythe, California. The California Highway Patrol says the tractor-trailer struck a parked attenuator construction vehicle and an unoccupied Chevrolet Silverado before colliding with a water truck. The crash happened at about 5:17 a.m. The big rig driver, a 44-year-old man from Redlands, suffered severe head and leg injuries and was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.
Engineering News-Record reported that the crash took place inside an active Caltrans I-10 rehabilitation project that runs from west of Wiley Well Road to the California-Arizona state line. According to the outlet, alcohol and drugs were not believed to be factors, and the cause remains under investigation by the CHP. MyNewsLA also reported that a SigAlert was issued for the eastbound lanes while crews cleaned up and investigated. Anyone hurt in a work zone crash may have legal options, and no fee is owed unless we win.
Three construction workers were killed early Friday morning when a big rig slammed into a highway work zone on eastbound Interstate 10 near Intake Boulevard outside Blythe, California. The crash was reported around 5:15 a.m. as crews worked along the freeway. According to the California Highway Patrol, the truck first struck a parked attenuator vehicle and an unoccupied pickup truck before colliding with a water truck, striking the workers in the process. All three men died at the scene. The truck’s driver, a 44-year-old Redlands man, suffered severe head and leg injuries and was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center in Palm Springs.
MyNewsLA.com reported that authorities identified the victims as 27-year-old Christopher Benavidez Guatemala and 50-year-old Alfonso Vega Torres, both of Coachella, and 39-year-old Francisco Morales Mendoza of Tonopah, Arizona. The outlet reported that CHP investigators had ruled out alcohol and drugs as factors in the crash, though the cause remains under investigation. Eastbound lanes of I-10 were shut down for hours as crews worked the scene, KESQ reported, with drivers urged to seek alternate routes. The collision remains under active investigation by the California Highway Patrol.
