Blog Post

Major Ontario California Car Crash Leaves Four Dead


August 20, 2007
Topic: Auto Accidents

As inured as we've become to SUV crashes and the resulting fatalities, this one is particularly hard to digest. On Saturday in Ontario, California four people including a four-year-old boy were killed when the van in which they were traveling was slammed into by an oncoming SUV that careened over the yellow line, and rammed into it head on. The van, after being hit by the Ford Explorer, spun around several times before hitting a Ford Escort. The driver of the Escort escaped with minor injuries. The passengers in the van who were later identified by the San Bernardino County Coroner's Office weren't as lucky. 55-year-old Pamela Kay Estes who was driving the van didn't stand a chance. She died instantaneously, and had to be cut out of the mangled metal by emergency personnel. That was the scale of the wreckage.

76-year-old William Edward Warren was ejected from the front passenger seat, and died on the spot. 72-year-old Freda Mae Warren who was sitting in the back with two young children died later in the hospital. The four-year-old boy died after being air lifted to a hospital. A one-year-old boy who was also in the van has been hospitalized with severe injuries, and is reported to be in a critical condition. All were residents of Fontana, California, and the accident occurred on the Ontario border of Rancho Cucamonga.

Although exact details of the crash are unclear at this point, this much seems to be clear. The 18-year-old driver of the Explorer was driving north on Etiwanda Ave and for some reason veered in to incoming traffic, including the ill-fated van.

It has long been known that extensive injuries and fatalities are more likely when an SUV is involved in a crash. In 2000, SUVs had the highest rollover rate for passenger vehicles in injury crashes: 12 percent, as compared to 7 percent for pickups, 4 percent for vans and 3 percent for passenger cars. In fact, one of the vehicles involved in the accident, the Ford Explorer, is 16 times more likely than the typical family car to kill occupants of another vehicle in a crash. But these facts don't make this particular tragedy any harder to bear. Negligent or aggressive driving is a major cause of car crashes in this country, and this combined with the added force of an SUV, meant the passengers in the van hardly stood a chance.

If you've been injured or lost a loved one in a car crash, call the personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group for a free consultation.


The California personal injury attorneys at The Reeves Law Group represent victims of accidents, injuries and wrongful death throughout California from our offices in Los Angeles County, Orange County, San Diego County, Riverside County, San Bernardino County, Ventura County, Fresno County, Kern County, Sacramento County, San Fernando Valley, Long Beach, Antelope Valley, Torrance, Glendale, Bakersfield, Santa Ana, San Jose, San Francisco, Oakland, Ontario, and Victorville.