Hemet, CA – On Wednesday, August 31st, at approximately 8:40 am, the Hemet Public Safety Communications Center began receiving calls regarding a traffic hazard. When officers arrived on scene, they located half of a double-wide mobile home on a trailer that had been abandoned within the westbound lanes of Stetson Avenue near Lyon Avenue.
Hemet Police Traffic investigators responded and learned through witness statements that the abandoned mobile home was being towed by a class C motor home followed by a white Toyota full-size truck. Witnesses stated as the trailer carrying the mobile home was approaching Lyon Avenue, it had a catastrophic mechanic failure, which appeared to originate from the axel. Witnesses watched as the motorhome driver released the trailer, and the Toyota truck driver momentarily directed traffic around the hazard. Both drivers returned to their vehicles and fled the scene, last seen traveling northbound on Lyon Avenue.
Hemet Police Traffic Investigators were able to determine the origin of the mobile home and the identity of the people involved in abandoning the large structure on one of the city’s main thoroughfares. Within hours Hemet Police Motor Officers located and questioned the two responsible parties in the city of Homeland. It was determined that the drivers knowingly abandoned the mobile home trailer once it became immobile. They will potentially face thousands of dollars in city cost recovery fees.
The westbound lanes of Stetson Avenue were closed to traffic between Elk Street and Lyon Avenue for several hours. The city of Hemet’s Public Works Department responded with heavy equipment and dismantled the unstable structure on the scene.
