MURRIETA ---- Four cars crashed on Interstate 15 Monday
night after one driver stopped his Jeep and turned off the lights,
authorities said.
The first crash happened about 11:45 p.m. in the
freeway's northbound lanes, near the Nutmeg Street over crossing, according
to a California Highway Patrol report.
The 1975 Jeep, driven by Michael Nelson,
20, of San Pedro,
suddenly stopped directly in front of a 1997 Ford pickup, driven by Fidencio
Bedolla, 46, of Lake Elsinore, causing the pickup to rear-end the Jeep, said
CHP Officer John Canning.
A northbound Saturn driven by Anna Marie Graefen, 19, of
Wildomar, swerved around the crash, spinning out of control, the report
states. A fourth car, a Toyota Tercel driven by Maria Tirado, 28, of Lake
Elsinore, then hit the Saturn, officers said.
Nelson, Bedolla, Graefen and an unidentified passenger in
the Jeep were hospitalized, Canning said. Their conditions were not
available Tuesday.
Officers said they do not know why Nelson stopped the Jeep
in the middle of the freeway.
The crash closed all northbound lanes for about 30
minutes.