Five dead in Saturday crash near Salton Sea; Sheriff's Department identifies three victims

Five people, including two children, were killed Saturday when the car they were in crashed into a semi near the Salton Sea.

The crash occurred at around 5:15 p.m. at the intersection of 81st Avenue and State Route 86 in Oasis, according to a California Highway Patrol press release.

As the Jetta was driving eastbound on 81st Avenue and entered the intersection, it failed to yield to a semi that was driving southbound on State Route 86, causing the semi to collide with the Jetta's left side. The release stated that it was not clear why the Jetta entered the intersection without yielding.

In a tweet Saturday, the Riverside County Fire Department reported that the people inside the Jetta became trapped and had to be extricated from it. All five occupants were later pronounced dead at the scene.

Some of the victims' names have yet to be released by the Riverside County Coroner. However, California Highway Patrol said the driver was a 26-year-old woman from Thermal, and the Riverside County Sheriff's Department identified three of the victims via a press release Sunday as 24-year-old Coachella resident Victor Manuel Marmolejo-Cuarenta, 7-year-old Thermal resident Matteo Emmanuel Robledo-Felix and 6-year-old Thermal resident Ariadne Isabella Robledo-Felix.

The agency also said the driver of the semi wasn't injured and was determined to not have been under-the-influence at the time of the crash. However, the release did not say if the same assessment had been made about the driver of the Jetta.

There is a stop sign at the eastbound 81st Avenue intersection with State Route 86, although visibility of it is slightly obstructed by overgrown plants. A Desert Sun photographer who visited the scene of the crash said skid marks going off the left side of State Route 86 into the median between the north and southbound lanes of State Route 86 remained visible early Sunday afternoon, suggesting the vehicles came to a stop there. There is no stop sign at the intersection on southbound State Route 86.

Update, Jan. 31, 2022: Due to incorrect information initially provided by the Riverside County coroner, an earlier version of this article contained a different spelling of Victor Marmolejo-Cuarenta's name. The coroner's office said it has updated its records.

Paul Albani-Burgio covers breaking news and the City of Palm Springs. Follow him on Twitter at @albaniburgiop and via email at paul.albani-burgio@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Children among five dead in crash near Salton Sea