Corona, California April 25, 2016
The California Highway Patrol arrested a man after he allegedly crashed his car into a construction area on I-15 in Corona, killing a boy and his mother while seriously injuring another child who were all passengers in the vehicle. He was believed to be intoxicated at the time of the accident.
Those deceased in the accident were identified as Christopher Austin, 6 years old and his mother Ashley Austin, 27 both of Canyon Lake, California.
The Driver was identified ads Michael Edward Mason, 58, and the relationship of the driver to the victims was not known. Mason was traveling north in a 2002 GMC Sierra at approximately 60 mph. California Highway Patrol estimates that at 9:22 p.m., the vehicle veered off of the highway and into the construction site divider just north of Magnolia Avenue.
The left tires of the truck went into a ditch beside the road and that forced the truck to slam into steel beams and then careened into a nearby stack of lumber. The vehicle plipped over and landed on its roof, according to the source.
When authorities arrived both Ashley and Christopher Austin were declared dead. There was a 9 year old girl, whose identity was not released riding in the back seat. She was taken to Riverside County Regional Medical Center with significant injuries.
A field sobriety test found Mason to be over the legal limit and significantly impaired by alcohol, according to the CHP. He was arrested at Riverside Community Hospital and charged with vehicular manslaughter, suspicion of murder, driving under the influence and willfully causing harm to a child.
Mason was taken to jail at Robert Presley Detention Center and it was revealed through court records that he was denied bail. Charges are pending a completion of the investigation.
