Trucker Arrested In Crash That Killed 77-Year-Old Beaumont Man

BEAUMONT, CA — A 62-year-old Minnesota truck driver remained behind bars Monday afternoon in Riverside County after he crashed his big rig into stopped vehicles while driving under the influence of drugs, killing a Beaumont man, authorities said.

Jimmy Ray Whitehead of Morton was being held at Banning's Larry D. Smith Correctional Facility on suspicion of gross vehicular manslaughter and DUI causing bodily injury following Thursday night's crash on eastbound Interstate 10 at the Oak Valley Parkway offramp in Beaumont.

Shortly after 9:30 p.m., Whitehead rear-ended three vehicles that were stopped for a red traffic light at the offramp, according to California Highway Patrol Officer Jonathan Torres.

Four people were sent to area hospitals with crash-related injuries, Torres said. One of them, 77-year-old Harry McCreery, died at Riverside University Health System Medical Center in Moreno Valley less than an hour after the crash, according to the coroner.

During the crash investigation, the CHP arrested Whitehead on suspicion of driving under the influence of drugs, Torres said.

Whitehead was being held in lieu of $75,000 bail. Court records were unavailable.