The Sheriff’s Department has released more information about the horrific crash Wednesday night that sent four Twentynine Palms residents to area hospitals. About 5:30 p.m., David Burns, 56, of Twentynine Palms, was driving a white 2014 Toyota RAV-4 eastbound on Highway 62. As he approached the intersection with Monte Vista Drive, just west of Lear Avenue in the Indian Cove area of Twentynine Palms, his vehicle rear-ended a blue 2012 Ford Fusion driven by Aiko Junk, 21. The collision caused Junk’s car to cross into the number one westbound lane of the highway and crash head-on into a black 2010 Jeep Compass, driven by Hannah Cole, 24. The force of the collision sent the Jeep rolling into the desert on the north side of the highway, where it landed on the driver’s side. Twentynine Palms Fire Chief Jim Thompson said responding firefighters from the Twentynine Palms and Combat Center Fire Department spent more than an hour extricating Junk and Cole from their vehicles using the Jaws of Life. The debris from the crash was spread out over half a mile on the highway. Aiko Junk, Richard Junk, 24, Hannah Cole, and Corey Cole, 22, were flown to Loma Linda University Medical Center and Desert Hospital with various injuries. Two young children who were strapped into car seats in Junk’s Ford Fusion were uninjured in the crash, but they were taken to area hospitals as a precautionary measure. David Burns was not injured in the crash and was released from the scene. Investigators do not believe that alcohol or drugs were a factor in the collision. Witnesses to the crash—who have not been interviewed already—are asked to contact Sheriff’s Deputy Wayne Greer at 760-366-4175.
