Collision Sends CHP Car Off Freeway Into Tree

A California Highway Patrol car careened off a freeway embankment, flew through the air and hit a tree Tuesday, but the officer was able to walk away.

The officer was chasing a speeding motorcyclist about 3:30 p.m. when his car collided with another car and went over the edge of the westbound Riverside Freeway west of North Kraemer Boulevard, CHP officials said. Witnesses said they saw the car go through a wire fence and across a grassy area before slamming into a eucalyptus tree.

Employees at Reborn Cabinets, which faces the freeway, watched in horror as the patrol car swerved off the freeway.

“I was scared,” said Vinny Nareolilla, owner of the business. “I thought the car was going to fly into my front door. That car was airborne when it hit the tree.”

Nareolilla said he and his son, Anthony, ran to the car.

“We pried open the door and asked him if he was all right. All he cared about was if anyone else was hurt,” Anthony Nareolilla said.

Another employee, Diana Ramirez, said she “saw the car flying, then it hit, and there were pieces of the car flying everywhere. I ran inside and called 911.”

The motorcyclist, who had been going about 90 mph, escaped, the CHP said.

The officer, Don Burt, 25, suffered minor injuries. The other driver was not injured, the CHP said.