Freeway Accident: A driver was critically injured in a rollover crash on Highway 86 at I-10. (Photo: KPSP News) Click image to see full-size photo.

Interstate 10 was closed Tuesday after a rollover crash that critically injured a motorist on the Highway 86 interchange in Indio.

•  A pickup truck towing an SUV and hauling dirt bikes was passing through Indio on Highway 86 en route to Arizona. The truck was in the far right lane, which becomes Interstate 10 at that point.

•   The pickup swerved to the right and rolled over. The driver’s arm was pinned between the truck and the road. Officials said the arm might be severed.

•   The freeway was closed so a helicopter could land there. The victim was airlifted to a hospital.

The freeway accident occurred at around 8 a.m., according to a report in the Desert Sun.

California Highway Patrol officer Joe Zagorski said the victim, whose name was not released, was driving a utility pickup truck eastbound on Highway 86 at the time of the crash.

The truck, which was hauling several dirt bikes and was towing a sports utility vehicle, was traveling in the far right lane that splits off from Highway 86 and becomes I-10. Zagorski said the man was en route to Arizona.

Skid marks show that the pickup truck suddenly moved to the right, but CHP officers do not know why. Officers did not say if there was any sort of roadway defect or some other obstruction that the pickup truck driver may have been trying to avoid.

The swerve apparently sent the truck out of control. It rolled over and went off of the freeway. In the process, the bikes were dumped and scattered. A car crashed into one the bikes.

The pickup truck driver’s arm was pinned between the vehicle and the road. Riverside County Fire Department officials told KPSP News there was a good chance the man would lose his arm.

“He’s alive because he was wearing a seat belt,” Zagorski said. “If he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt, more than his arm would’ve come out of the vehicle.”

All eastbound lanes of the I-10 freeway were closed for a little under a half-hour so a medical helicopter could land there. The truck driver was airlifted to a hospital to be treated. Zagorski said the man’s injuries were severe but not life-threatening.

There was no one else in the pickup truck. No other injuries were reported.

The CHP is investigating the accident.

Here are more photos of the accident scene. Click on a thumbnail to see the image full-size:

Indio Freeway Accident Lawyers

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorneyClifford Blackman, have successfully represented freeway accident victims and their families for 35 years. The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.