A father and his young daughter were critically injured Tuesday night when they were hit by a car as they were crossing Highway 62 in Yucca Valley. About 7:15 p.m., Carleton Fonoimoana, 32, and his three children were walking northbound across the highway from the driveway behind Marshall’s, just west of Hermosa Avenue. They were not in a crosswalk. A Sheriff’s press release states his 6-year-old daughter, Alofa, dropped something in the road and went back to get it, followed closely by her father. Ronald Regh, 63, of Yucca Valley was driving his Honda Civic in the number 2 lane. He told Sheriff’s deputies he was looking at the traffic light at the entrance to the Home Depot/Walmart shopping center and did not see Fonoimoana and his daughter as they re-entered the westbound # 2 lane. His car collided with them; the other two children were not hit. Carleton Fonoimoana suffered head and leg injuries; his daughter suffered major head trauma, as well as arm and abdominal injuries. Due to bad weather, Mercy Air helicopters could not transport the victims. The girl’s ambulance was diverted en route from Loma Linda Children’s Hospital to Desert Hospital; her father was also taken in another ambulance to Desert Hospital in Palm Springs. The Sheriff’s Department is investigating.
