Freeway Car-Truck Crash Kills Three, Injures Three

Three people were killed and three others were injured Saturday when a car swerved off a freeway, sailed over the center divider and plunged into oncoming traffic. The car hit a pickup truck carrying a Moreno Valley family.

The crash occurred about 3:20 a.m. on the Pomona Freeway near Valley Way in Rubidoux northwest of Riverside, said California Highway Patrol dispatcher Ruth Sanchez.

Killed in the pickup truck were Donnie and Donna Irvin, both 42, Sanchez said. Their 13-year-old daughter, Rene L. Irvin, survived with minor injuries.

Donna Irvin’s 18-year-old son, Dana Kahl, whom the family had picked up at Ontario Airport, suffered only slight injuries. Kahl was on leave from duty at the Marine Corps base at Camp Pendleton.

A passenger in the car, Peter Cloake, 23, of Chino, died in the crash. The driver, James Bertram, 21, also based at Camp Pendleton, suffered major injuries and underwent surgery at Riverside Community Hospital.

Sanchez said Bertram’s 1983 Ford Mustang swerved off the freeway’s westbound lanes, hit a ditch in the center strip and hurtled into the path of the Irvins’ eastbound truck. Authorities said they were investigating whether Bertram was under the influence of alcohol when the accident occurred.

The Irvins were wearing seat belts, Sanchez said, but Bertram and Cloake were not.