A La Mesa woman received minor injuries Sunday night when she crashed into the back of a semi-truck hauling hay bales. According to the California Highway Patrol, Alyssa Canoff, 27, was driving a 2012 Toyota Tacoma eastbound on Highway 62 in Morongo Valley. Just before 9 p.m., as Canoff was approaching Little Morongo Road, she rear-ended a 1997 Freightliner, driven by Esteban Aguirre, 49, of Parker, Arizona. Canoff suffered minor injuries from the airbag; she was taken to Hi-Desert Medical Center. The CHP has designated April as Distracted Driving Awareness Month; Alyssa Canoff told CHP Officer Jake Griffith that she had been distracted by her cell phone when the crash occurred. The CHP reminds motorists that using a cell phone while driving increases your risk of being in a crash by 400 percent.
