Drivers ram barriers, flip cars on Indian Canyon Drive in Palm Springs

Two people accused of driving under the influence separately crashed their cars early Tuesday after they drove past the barricades closing North Indian Canyon Drive due to blowing sand and low visibility, Palm Springs police said.

An officer saw two cars speed past him and ram through the south closure barricades around 2 a.m., police said in a press release. One of the cars collided with a large sand berm covering the entire road, rolled over and was engulfed in flames.

The driver, 18-year-old Michael Hernandez, was hospitalized after receiving major injuries from the accident and facing DUI charges. Police said the other car remained at the scene, and its driver is not facing DUI charges.

Police found another overturned car with nobody inside at the scene. An investigation alleges Pablo Garcia Montealegre, 31, was drunk driving his child home from a party in Cathedral City and passed through the barricades before crashing into the same sand berm, police said.

Montealegre got his son out of the car and walked to a gas station, where they were picked up by a family member who took them to a hospital, police said. He was arrested on suspicion of DUI and child endangerment.

The child was airlifted to another hospital, and has serious injury to his face and unknown internal injury, police said.

Ani Gasparyan covers the western Coachella Valley cities of Desert Hot Springs and Cathedral City. Reach her at [email protected].