4 killed in head-on crash in Riverside County

LAKE MATHEWS, Calif. (FOX 11) - Four people were killed after two vehicles collided head-on early Saturday in Riverside County, authorities said.

The California Highway Patrol said an adult male driver and adult female passenger were driving around 5:10 a.m. in the Lake Mathews area in a 2001 GMC Sierra.

The vehicle was headed westbound on Cajalco Road, just east of Gavlan Road.

At the same time, two adult males in a 2006 Chevy Avalanche were headed eastbound, approaching the GMC, when the vehicles collided head-on.

The Chevy immediately caught fire and became engulfed in flames, authorities said. Both passengers "sustained fatal injuries as a result of the collision" and were pronounced dead at the scene, CHP said.

The driver of the GMC was also pronounced dead at the scene. The vehicle's female passenger was transported to a nearby hospital, where she died of her injuries, authorities said.

The victims' identities were not immediately released.

The cause of the crash remained under investigation, CHP said.

Anyone with information regarding the crash was asked to contact the California Highway Patrol's Riverside Accident Investigation Unit at 951-637-8000.