Los Angeles, CA : Conrad Hilton hurt in car crash near Palm Springs on Saturday, August 23, 2014
Conrad Hilton, 19-year-old younger brother of socialite-turned-reality star Paris Hilton, was seriously injured in a crash on Interstate 10 Saturday, just outside of Cathedral City.
At about 12:20 p.m. on Saturday, Hilton, 19, was driving a 2013 BMW east on I-10 at a high rate of speed when he hit a car west of Date Palm Drive, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officer Stephanie Hamilton said a U.S. Forest Service park ranger tried to stop Hilton near Cherry Valley for speeding and passing on the right shoulder.
"The park ranger lost sight of Hilton's vehicle shortly after the Highway 60 split," she said. "Several motorists called him in for reckless driving, but he was not being pursued at the time of the collision."
A CHP helicopter was overhead when the collision occurred.
Investigators said he tried to change lanes to his right and hit the left rear of a 1971 Volkswagen Beetle in the right lane.
The Volkswagen's driver, Phillip Singler of Pinyon Pines, lost control of his car and spun out into the center median, where his car came to a stop and faced traffic coming from the west.
"It was scary. I was knocked across the freeway," Singler said.
The BMW collided with the rear of a tractor trailer before coming to a stop on the side of the road.
Emergency crews had to free Hilton from his car and he was taken to Desert Regional Medical Center with "major injuries," according to the CHP.
Officials said the truck's driver, Davy Van, 31, of Westminster, was not injured, but Singler was being examined for injuries Tuesday.
"Right now I think I'm fine, but I have no idea. I'm no doctor," he said.
Investigators determined drugs and alcohol did not play a role in the collision. It wasn't immediately clear if he's been released from the hospital.
The Hilton family has made its presence known in the Coachella Valley.
Paris Hilton has attended the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and her aunt, Kyle Richards of the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills," owns a vacation home in Palm Desert.
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Conrad Hilton hurt in car crash near Palm Springs