Victim in freeway traffic fatality is Menifee man, CHP says

The deceased in a multiple-vehicle crash on the 215 Freeway Monday morning was a 30-year-old Menifee man, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The man's name has not been released. One other person was transported with major injuries and two others received minor injuries in the collision, which was reported at 5:52 a.m. Monday on the southbound 215 Freeway, just south of Los Alamos Road in Murrieta.

The CHP report states that a passenger bus was traveling at about 70 mph when it rear-ended a 2006 Toyota Tundra that was stopped in the No. 1 lane behind a 2015 Nissan Sentra, which was also stopped in that lane. A 2018 Ford F-250 was stopped in the No. 2 lane at the same time.

The driver of the bus, a 26-year-old man from Riverside, failed to see the stopped traffic, crashing into the vehicle ahead, according to the CHP. The bus pushed the Toyota Tundra into the Nissan Sentra. The bus then veered left and hit the center median. The Toyota Tundra also collided with the Ford F-250.

The Tundra caught fire and the driver was pronounced dead on scene, the report said. The driver of the bus was transported with major injuries. The driver of the Sentra, a 49-year-old man from Palmdale, received minor injuries, as did the driver of the Ford F-250, a 45-year-old man from San Bernardino.

The southbound freeway lanes were jammed for miles as traffic was diverted off at Los Alamos Road and back onto the freeway on the other side of the bridge. Lanes weren't re-opened until 12:40 p.m.