Hemet police have not named the driver in their news release. The name and charges come from the public Riverside County jail booking that lists a Hemet PD arrest at that Palm and Commonwealth location.

Police said the crash was reported about 6:55 a.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22, near Palm and Commonwealth. Two pedestrians riding an electric scooter were struck. Hemet Police Communications received several 911 calls. Witnesses said the vehicle fled and gave a description and a direction of travel.

Officers found both pedestrians unresponsive in the roadway and rendered aid until medical personnel took over. Both were taken to a local hospital. One was pronounced dead. Police are still withholding the identity of the deceased pending family notification.

The driver later returned to the scene and was taken into custody, Hemet police said. The department’s Traffic Bureau assumed the investigation. Preliminary information from police is that the pedestrians were riding an electric scooter on Palm Avenue when they were struck by a vehicle also traveling on Palm Avenue. Impaired driving appears to be a factor, the department said. The investigation is ongoing.

Palm Avenue was closed from Eaton to Commonwealth for several hours.

The sheriff’s roster lists Kohler with a date of birth of Sept. 26, 1994. He was arrested at 5:58 p.m. Sept. 22 by Hemet police at Palm Avenue and Commonwealth Avenue and booked at 2:17 a.m. Sept. 23 under case number 2026-07074, booking 202647135. He is listed at the John Benoit Detention Center. Bail is listed at $1,000,000 on the booking record (raw field 01000000). His next court date is listed as Sept. 28, 2026, at 8 a.m.

Kohler was booked on a felony murder charge under Penal Code 187(a); a felony hit-and-run involving death under Vehicle Code 20001(a); and a felony DUI causing bodily injury under Vehicle Code 23153(g), described on the roster as alcohol and drugs. Those are allegations on the booking record, not a conviction.

Anyone with information can contact Officer Jake Dominiguez at (951) 765-2400. The Hemet Police Department news release is at https://hemetpd.com/30159-2. The public booking record is on the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department Inmate Information System at https://jimspub.riversidesheriff.org/jimsacucgi/servlet/servlet/isCobol(IISINFO)?bkno=202647135P.

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The CAD entries start about 1:54 a.m. Friday, Sept. 18, 2026. Units reported an unknown vehicle, a possible collision into the center divide, and a vehicle on fire. A reporting party told dispatch they saw the collision and did not see anyone leave the vehicle.

By 2:21 a.m., eastbound Florida Avenue at the intersection was shut down. At 2:24 a.m., CHP asked county roads to respond for a downed traffic signal and damaged light pole on the northeast corner of Florida, listed as pole No. 044717. At 2:41 a.m., CHP requested Caltrans for a hard closure.

At 3:37 a.m., the officer in charge asked the fire department to return and help the coroner with the vehicle. Budget Towing was contacted at 3:44 a.m. All lanes were reported open at 5:19 a.m., with the log noting a solo 1144 — CHP’s code for a fatal.

As of Monday morning, Riverside County Coroner CivicAlerts did not list a matching identification for this death. CHP asked anyone with information to call Officer R. San Nicolas at (951) 846-5300.

The Chronicle is not repeating secondary descriptions of the driver’s gender or vehicle make until those details appear in a CHP or coroner primary.

Sources

• CHP CAD reprint, Fatality State Route 74 / Mountain Ave, Sept. 18, 2026
• Riverside County Coroner CivicAlerts

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The operation partnered with store loss-prevention personnel and investigators from the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, according to a Sept. 12 Hemet PD release. Undercover officers and retail staff worked in and around the stores identifying and apprehending people engaged in theft-related crimes, police wrote.

Three suspects were arrested. Charges included shoplifting, repeat theft offenses, and probation violations under Penal Code sections 490.5(a), 666.1(a), and 1203.2(a), according to the release. The department did not name the suspects.

Organized retail theft incidents may be reported to Hemet PD at (951) 765-2400, or anonymously through the department’s smartphone app, the release said.

Hemet PD

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The county’s 60-day Food Facility Closure List shows the business at 121 E. Florida Ave., Hemet, closed on Sept. 3, 2026. The reopen date field was blank when checked Friday morning.

A county closure list is a public enforcement record. It is not a finding of guilt against any named person. The Chronicle is seeking comment from the operator.

County Environmental Health: https://rivcoeh.org/

Inspection grades: http://restaurantgrading.rivcoeh.org/

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Hemet Police Communications received the call about 6:31 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026. Officers found a silver Toyota sedan and a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that collided in the intersection. The motorcycle rider was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries. The Toyota driver remained on scene and cooperated, police said.

On Sept. 10, investigators were notified that the rider had succumbed to injuries and was pronounced deceased at a local hospital, according to the Hemet PD release.

The preliminary investigation suggests the Toyota driver was making a northbound turn onto Sanderson Avenue when the vehicles collided. Impaired driving does not appear to be a factor at this time, police said.

The identity of the deceased is being withheld pending family notification.

Hemet PD: https://hemetpd.com/motorcyclist-killed-in-traffic-collision

Tips: Officer Kevin Harrod, (951) 765-2400.

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Hemet Police Communications received the call about 12:13 a.m. Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. Officers found a silver SUV and a blue pickup involved. The SUV driver was unresponsive and pronounced deceased at the scene. The pickup driver remained on scene and cooperated with the investigation, police said.

The preliminary investigation found the SUV was traveling eastbound on Domenigoni Parkway on the wrong side of the road when it collided with the pickup. Impaired driving does appear to be a factor, according to the Hemet PD release. Westbound Domenigoni Parkway was closed from Sanderson Avenue to Warren Road from about 12:18 a.m. to 6:30 a.m.

The Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner’s Bureau Final case File No. 2026-06717 identifies the decedent as Jordan Fontenot, male, age 32, of Canyon Lake. The coroner lists the date and time of death as Sept. 10, 2026, at 12:19 a.m., and the location as Domenigoni Parkway approximately 1,600 feet east of Warren Road in Hemet. The investigating agency is listed as Hemet Police Department, case 2026-06796. Next of kin were notified, according to the coroner listing.

Hemet PD: https://hemetpd.com/fatal-traffic-collision-sep-10-2026
Coroner newsflash: https://www.riversidesheriff.org/m/newsflash/Home/Detail/7358
Tips: Cpl. Christian Coley, (951) 765-2400.

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The county’s online inspection listing identified the bar as closed following the finding. The listing did not provide a date for reopening.

The closure affects the Hemet sports bar while the operator addresses the health department’s findings. The Chronicle is seeking comment from the operator.

As of Monday morning, no reopen date was posted by Riverside County Environmental Health.

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The Riverside County Fire Department posted at 12:50 p.m. that crews were on a technical rescue at Faith Drive and Meridian Street. A person was trapped in a trench collapse, the post said, and rescue work was underway.

At 1:15 p.m. the department said bystanders had already gotten one patient out of a 15-foot-deep trench before first responders arrived.

“The patient was transported by ground ambulance to a local trauma center with serious injuries,” the post said.

Cal Fire did not release a name. As of 1:15 p.m., that was the last official update posted. The call was not listed on the department’s live-incidents page when checked later Tuesday afternoon.

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The child was Camila Leon, 8, of Perris, according to the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner. Next of kin have been notified. The coroner’s file is marked final.

Silvia Corona, 52, of San Jacinto, was identified by the Perris Sheriff’s Station Traffic Reconstruction Team as the suspect in the two-vehicle collision, the department said. The charges described in the sheriff’s release are allegations. Corona has not been convicted.

Deputies from the Perris station responded at 5:36 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 15, to the intersection of Ramona Expressway and Rider Street on a report of a major-injury crash involving two vehicles, the sheriff’s release said. The file number is PE262270081.

The coroner listed the time of injury as 5:35 p.m. at that same intersection.

Upon arrival, deputies found five injured people in one of the vehicles, the department said. Two had life-threatening injuries. The driver and sole occupant of the second vehicle was also hurt. All were taken to local hospitals.

One juvenile passenger was later pronounced dead at a hospital, the sheriff’s release said. A second juvenile passenger remained hospitalized in critical condition, according to that account. The department has not issued a later public update on the second child’s condition.

The coroner said Camila died at 6:04 p.m. Aug. 15 at Riverside University Health System, 26520 Cactus Avenue in Moreno Valley. The injury location matches the crash scene. The investigating agency is the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office, Perris Station, under the same file number.

The sheriff’s first account said the identity of the dead child would not be released at that time. The coroner’s office later posted the name.

Perris traffic investigators continued the case and identified Corona as the suspect, the department said. On Aug. 17, she was arrested and booked into the Cois M. Byrd Detention Center for gross vehicular manslaughter while intoxicated and driving under the influence of alcohol causing injury, according to the sheriff’s update.

On Aug. 18, Corona posted bail and was released, the department said. The sheriff’s release does not state the amount of that first bail.

On Aug. 20, the Riverside District Attorney’s Office issued an arrest warrant for an additional charge of second-degree murder, the Sheriff’s Department said. Perris deputies went to Corona’s residence and took her into custody without incident. She was booked into the Cois M. Byrd Detention Center for second-degree murder. Bail was set at $1 million.

The investigation remains open, the department said. No further details would be released at the time of the Aug. 20 update.

Sgt. Evan Bechtold is listed as the reporting supervisor on the Perris station item, titled “Fatal Traffic Collision – Suspect Arrested (Update).”

Anyone with information is asked to call Deputy Joseph Puente at the Perris Sheriff’s Station at (951) 210-1000, or Riverside County Sheriff’s Dispatch at (951) 776-1099.

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The San Jacinto Station conducted a DUI and driver’s license checkpoint from 6 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21, to 2 a.m. Saturday on State Street north of 7th Street, according to a department update posted Aug. 22. Deputies screened 961 vehicles and conducted 10 field sobriety tests, the Sheriff’s Department said.

Besides the five DUI arrests, deputies issued 28 citations for driving without a license and six other Vehicle Code citations, the department said. Two people were arrested on misdemeanor warrants, and 16 vehicles were stored or impounded.

Sgt. Daniel Chico is the reporting supervisor. In an Aug. 17 announcement of the checkpoint, Chico said impaired drivers put others on the road at significant risk.

“Any prevention measures that reduce the number of impaired drivers on our roads significantly improve traffic safety,” Chico said.

The Sheriff’s Office said checkpoint sites are chosen from data on impaired-driving crashes. The stated purpose is public safety — taking suspected impaired drivers off the road, not maximizing arrests.

The Aug. 21 stop was part of a longer Labor Day enforcement window. The San Jacinto Station said additional deputies have been on patrol since Aug. 19 and will remain through Labor Day, Sept. 7, looking for drivers suspected of being under the influence of alcohol or drugs. The extra work is part of the national “Drive Sober or Get Pulled Over” campaign.

“Enjoying the last days of summer should be all about fun and that starts with making safe choices before making plans,” Deputy Post said in the station’s campaign release. “Everyone deserves to get home safely, and it starts with your everyday actions.”

Citing the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the Sheriff’s Office said 11,904 people were killed in drunk-driving crashes in the United States in 2024 — one person every 44 minutes. Impairment is not limited to alcohol, the department said. Prescription drugs, over-the-counter medications and cannabis products can also impair driving. Recreational and medicinal marijuana are legal in California, the Aug. 17 release noted, but driving under the influence of marijuana is illegal.

A first-time DUI carries an average of $13,500 in fines and penalties and a suspended license, the Sheriff’s Office said.

The Hemet Police Department separately announced extra DUI patrols for the same Aug. 19 through Labor Day period and said it would hold a DUI and driver’s license checkpoint in Hemet from 8 p.m. Aug. 21 to 2 a.m. As of Friday, Aug. 28, Hemet Police had not posted results from that checkpoint.

Both agencies said the enforcement is funded by a grant from the California Office of Traffic Safety through NHTSA. The Sheriff’s Office advised anyone who sees a suspected impaired driver to call 9-1-1.

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