Coachella Valley locals identified as victims in high-speed Palm Desert crash
Two men died in a high-speed car crash on a road just off Highway 111 in Palm Desert on Friday morning, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's Department.
Deputies responded around 6 a.m. Friday to a report of a single-car collision at the intersection of Painters Path and Fred Waring Drive in Palm Desert, near the city's border with Rancho Mirage.
Two people were extricated by responding firefighters. The driver of the car, 20-year-old Aden Frankie Hernandez, was pronounced dead at the scene. The passenger, 21-year-old Carlos Juarez, was transported to a hospital where he died hours later. Hernandez lived in Thermal while Juarez lived in Indio, according to the Riverside County Coroner's Office.
"Evidence located at the scene indicated the driver of the vehicle was traveling at a high rate of speed, westbound on Fred Waring Drive," the department said in a press release. "It did not stop at the intersection of Painters Path before colliding with a brick wall. Further evidence at the scene indicated drugs/alcohol are likely a factor in this collision."
TRAFFIC COLLISION - RPT at 6:01 a.m. - 72100 block of Highway 111 in Palm Desert. Firefighters were on scene of a high-speed vehicle crash into the fence. Two patients were extricated. One patient with major injuries was transported by ground ambulance to a local hospital. One… pic.twitter.com/AMuU8GZPk6
— CAL FIRE/Riverside County Fire Department (@CALFIRERRU) May 24, 2024
This is a developing story.
Tom Coulter covers the cities of Palm Desert, La Quinta, Rancho Mirage and Indian Wells. Reach him at thomas.coulter@desertsun.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Two people dead after high-speed car crash in Palm Desert early Friday
