A triple punch for the Morongo Basin yesterday, first, at 9:26 am, a magnitude 4.2 earthquake, centered 10 miles south of Twentynine Palms in Joshua Tree National Park rattled our nerves but caused no damage or injuries, Then, at about 2:30 p.m., a monsoon swept through Joshua Tree and Twentynine Palms Monday afternoon causing flash flooding and shutting down Highway 62 for hours.
Just before 3 p.m., a 4-car crash on the highway at Indian Cove sent four people to the hospital. One person was taken to Desert Hospital in Palm Springs, one to Hi-Desert Medical Center. Because Morongo Basin Ambulance couldn’t get an additional ambulance to the scene, due to the road conditions, an ambulance from the Combat Center took a third victim to the base hospital for treatment. A fourth victim was also transported.
The Sheriff’s Department identified the four people involved as: Lindsay Darst, Brooke Campbell and Patricia Silva of Twentynine Palms and Anthony Bowers, of Joshua Tree. All the victims were treated and released. The collision occurred between a Land Rover, Chevy Cruze, Volvo XC90, and a Volkswagen Jetta. All lanes going east and westbound were closed for approximately one hour, due to the investigation and debris.
Lanes in both directions on Highway 62 were closed for hours from Whitefeather Road in Joshua Tree to Midway Road in Twentynine Palms due to the flooding, which washed large rocks and debris onto the highway. Many residents reported flooding on other roads in the area, and the Indian Cove area of Twentynine Palms had hail and high winds. The Indian Cove area recorded 1.12 inches of rain.
