The Riverside County Transportation Commission voted at its Dec.10 meeting to allocate a $107 million construction contract to Riverside-based Skanska USA Civil West California District Inc. to widen and improve 8.6 miles of the Ramona Expressway portion of the Mid County Parkway project. When completed, the Mid County Parkway will be a 16-mile corridor connecting Highway 79 in San Jacinto and Hemet with the 215 Freeway in Perris.

The company will widen the expressway to two lanes in each direction from one mile east of Rider Street to Warren Road in San Jacinto, to address safety concerns — a key component of the Mid County Parkway project. According to the Riverside County Transportation Commission, the Ramona Expressway leg of the parkway project was the site of 14 fatal collisions and 17 severe injuries between 2017 and 2022.

Skanska USA will also build a raised median, wildlife crossing and a new bridge over the San Jacinto River.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2029.

“This is another long-awaited project for the San Jacinto Valley and access out of the valley,” said Linda Krupa, who represents the city of Hemet on the commission.

After years of environmental and funding challenges, construction began on the project in 2022, when the Placentia Avenue 215 Freeway interchange opened.

The commission also awarded a $48.9 million contract to Minnesota-based Ames Construction to work on the second phase of the 60 Freeway-Potrero Boulevard interchange.
That project will include a new interchange at the 60, a realigned Western Knolls Avenue and a widened, six‑lane Potrero Boulevard between Jack Rabbit Trail and the 60-10 junction.

Construction is expected to be completed in 2028.

“Safe and reliable transportation is the foundation of our daily lives — connecting us to school, work, and the people who matter to us the most,” Supervisor Karen Spiegel, RCTC chair and vice chair of the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, says in a news release. “Together, these two projects will a create a safer and more connected Riverside County for us all.”

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SAN JACINTO — Authorities are investigating the cause of a two-vehicle, head-on collision between a big-rig and passenger vehicle that left one person dead at the scene on Saturday, August 10 that happened on Ramona Expressway near Bridge St.

The fatal crash, which left both vehicles heavily damaged and the sedan upside down on its roof, happened on Ramona Expressway east of Bridge St.

CHP, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire and Riverside County Sheriff’s Departments, along with other emergency personnel, were dispatched to Saturday morning’s deadly collision around 4:10 a.m., according to CHP and Cal Fire officials.

When officials arrived, they found a heavily damaged M&H Transport Inc. tractor-trailer big-rig disabled in the middle of the roadway. M&H Transport’s headquarters is located in Moreno Valley, just five miles from where the accident happened.

A heavily damaged and barely recognizable white sedan was about 100 yards away, upside down and on its roof in a field adjacent the road.

A person’s lifeless body could be seen inside the mangled wreckage of their car and firefighters used the “Jaws of Life” to perform an extensive extrication to remove the victim’s body from the sedan. The driver was later pronounced deceased at the scene. 

Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner officials today identified 26-year-old, Danny Joya, of San Jacinto, as the man killed in Saturday’s crash. A coroner’s release indicated Joya succumbed to his injuries at the scene and was pronounced deceased at 4:24 a.m.

The driver of the big-rig was evaluated by paramedics at the scene but was uninjured and declined further treatment. 

As their investigation was getting underway, officials reported that debris was spread across 200 yards of the roadway, and that despite the extensive wreckage, vehicles were continuing to drive “through the area at high speeds,” according to a CHP incident log.

A collision claimed a life and just two days after another life was lost

Another person died on the morning of Monday, August 12, in a head-on collision along the same, two-mile stretch of Ramona Expressway in San Jacinto that claimed another man’s life just two days earlier. The driver who reportedly caused the fatal crash was hospitalized.

The deadly collision, which happened west of Warren Rd., was the second fatal crash on Ramona Expressway in the last two days. The earlier head-on crash between a passenger vehicle and big-rig, which happened early Saturday morning, August 10, near Bridge St., killed 26-year-old, Danny Joya, of San Jacinto.

Officials have identified a woman who died as a result of a two-vehicle, head-on crash involving two passenger vehicles, early Monday morning, August 12. The fatal accident happened on Ramona Expressway, about a quarter-mile west of Warren Rd.

Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner officials identified Erika Amaya, 43, of Moreno Valley, as the woman killed in Monday’s crash. A coroner’s release indicated Amaya succumbed to her injuries at the scene and was pronounced deceased at 4:45 a.m.

Deputies from the San Jacinto Sheriff Station, along with CHP, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department, and AMR, were dispatched to the deadly crash at about 4:35 a.m., Riverside Sheriff’s Sgt. Bryan De Loss has since reported.

When officials arrived, they found two heavily damaged vehicles that had collided head-on. DeLoss described the vehicles as a white, Chevrolet sedan and green, Hyundai sedan.

Vehicle parts and debris were spread across a large section of the roadway, which was left blocked and impassable by the arrival of numerous official vehicles that responded to the scene of the crash.

The driver and sole occupant of the Chevrolet were pronounced deceased at the scene, according to De Loss and Cal Fire officials. 

The driver and sole occupant of the Hyundai who caused the collision was transported to an area hospital for treatment of injuries that Cal Fire described as moderate.   

Based on the circumstances, members of San Jacinto Station’s Collision Reconstruction Team responded to the scene of the crash and assumed the investigation. 

During their preliminary investigation, deputies determined the deceased victim from the Chevrolet sedan was traveling eastbound on Ramona Expressway just before the collision. At the same time, the Hyundai was being driven westbound.

For reasons yet to be determined, the surviving driver of the Hyundai crossed the double yellow lines “consequently colliding head-on with the Chevrolet,” killing the other driver, De Loss reported. 

During the investigation, Ramona Expressway was closed between Bridge St. and Warren Rd. The roadway remained closed for about six hours and was re-opened around 10:30 a.m.

The sheriff’s investigations into both deadly crashes are ongoing.

Anyone with information regarding this collision is encouraged to contact Deputy Cox at the San Jacinto Station at (951) 654-2702. Callers can refer to incident file number I192240014 and can remain anonymous.

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