6-Year-Old Critically Injured, Parents Hurt in Freeway Crash

A 6-year-old girl was critically injured Wednesday in a two-vehicle collision that blocked traffic for three hours at the transition of the Riverside and Costa Mesa freeways.

The accident took place at noon, the California Highway Patrol said, after the driver of a rental truck apparently fell asleep at the wheel. The driver, Carl Davis, 38, of San Francisco, veered into a pickup truck that was traveling in the lane next to him on the eastbound Riverside Freeway at the Costa Mesa Freeway transition.

He forced the pickup driven by James Michael Rogers, 36, of Phoenix onto the shoulder and down a steep embankment. Riding with Rogers was his wife, Elena, 24, and their 6-year-old daughter, who has not been identified by the CHP. After rolling over several times, the pickup landed on its side and the child, who was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected onto a grass and dirt embankment.

All three members of the Rogers family were treated at Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, where the girl was reported in critical condition with head injuries and the parents were released after several hours.

Davis’ truck, which also careened down the embankment, came to rest against a tree. He was treated for minor injuries at Kaiser Permanente Hospital in Anaheim.

The CHP issued a SigAlert for the transition area that lasted until about 3 p.m.