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The Foothill Freeway runs along the mountains from Irwindale to Fontana, past our office in San Dimas, at commuter speeds that turn a lane change into a hospital stay. Big-rig crossovers, wrong-way drivers and ten-car pileups are part of its history. Morales Law Firm handles them. Free consultation. No fee unless we win. English and Spanish.
The original Foothill Freeway, built in the 1960s and 70s, six to eight lanes, with short ramps at Irwindale, Azusa, Citrus, Grand, Lone Hill and San Dimas Avenue. CHP Baldwin Park writes the reports. Lawsuits go to the LA Superior Court East District at the Pomona Courthouse South.
The extension finished in stages through the 2000s: La Verne, Claremont, then Upland, Rancho Cucamonga, Fontana and on to the 215. Newer road, higher speeds, and the county line at Claremont changes the CHP office and the courthouse.
Three patterns account for most of the serious cases we see on this freeway, and each is handled differently.
The 210 is signed at 65 and driven faster, particularly on the newer eastern segment. A rear-end collision here that would be a sore neck on a surface street is a disc injury, a fracture or a concussion. Get checked the same day at the nearest emergency room and go back when symptoms develop; whiplash and concussion symptoms commonly appear 24 to 72 hours later.
Dash-cam and truck camera footage, event data recorders in the cars, the CHP report and dispatch log, Caltrans records of any lane closure, and witness contacts. Most of it is gone within two weeks unless someone asks. We send preservation letters within days of being hired.
The at-fault driver and their insurer owe the full cost of the crash: emergency and follow-up care, the months of therapy that follow most collisions, surgery and future treatment, lost wages and earning capacity, the vehicle and the rental, and compensation for pain, suffering and the loss of your ordinary life. Pure comparative negligence reduces a partly at-fault driver’s recovery by their share rather than barring it.
Many drivers on the 210 carry California’s $30,000 minimum. On a serious injury we look past that policy to an employer’s coverage, an umbrella policy, a trucking company’s commercial policy, and your own uninsured and underinsured motorist coverage, which we open on the first day whenever the injury may exceed the other driver’s limits.
Our office is on Bonita Avenue in San Dimas, a mile from the 210 at San Dimas Avenue and the 57 interchange. We drive this freeway every day. Francisco Morales grew up in West Covina, graduated from UCLA and Loyola Law School, and worked as a certified automotive service consultant before law school. He handles every case himself, in English or Spanish. More about Francisco, or return to the main car accident page.
Tell us what happened. No cost, no obligation, and your information stays private.
Send a few details and an attorney, not a screener, will call you back, usually the same day. No cost, no obligation, and no fee unless we recover money for you. Home and hospital visits anywhere from Irwindale to Fontana.
In Los Angeles County, from Irwindale and Azusa through Glendora, San Dimas, La Verne and Claremont, the CHP Baldwin Park Area office. Across the county line through Upland, Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana, the CHP Rancho Cucamonga Area office. City police do not write freeway reports; they handle the surface streets at the exits.
The freeway is Interstate 210 from Pasadena east to the 57 in San Dimas. East of the 57, through La Verne, Claremont, Upland, Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana, it is State Route 210, the extension completed in stages through the 2000s. Same road, same speeds, different signs. The distinction does not change your claim, but it does change which CHP office and which court handle it.
On June 20, 2026 a big rig crossed the center divider on the westbound 210 near Irwindale Avenue and collided with multiple vehicles, killing one woman and injuring 32 people. It closed the freeway for hours. It is the kind of mass-casualty truck crash the 210 produces, and the kind where the trucking company’s insurer is on the scene the same day.
Wrong-way drivers are frequently impaired and frequently uninsured or underinsured, so your own uninsured motorist coverage is often the main source of recovery, and a DUI conviction becomes evidence in the civil case. If the wrong-way entry was made possible by a ramp design or signage problem, a claim against Caltrans is possible, with a six-month government-claim deadline.
For crashes in Los Angeles County, the Los Angeles Superior Court’s East District at the Pomona Courthouse South. For crashes in Upland, Rancho Cucamonga or Fontana, San Bernardino County Superior Court at the San Bernardino Justice Center. Most cases settle before a lawsuit is necessary.
Foothill Presbyterian in Glendora, San Dimas Community, Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center for trauma, San Antonio Regional in Upland, Kaiser Fontana, and Arrowhead Regional in Colton for major trauma on the San Bernardino County side.
Two years from the crash to file an injury lawsuit under Code of Civil Procedure section 335.1. Six months for a government claim if Caltrans, a county or a road condition is involved. Truck data and camera footage must be preserved within days.
Pedestrian strikes on the 210, which have happened repeatedly near Citrus Avenue in Azusa, are handled as wrongful death or catastrophic injury claims against the driver and, where a road or lighting condition contributed, against Caltrans. The family should call before speaking to any insurer.
Yes. Francisco Morales is fully bilingual and handles the entire case in Spanish when the client prefers.
Nothing up front. We work on a contingency fee, a percentage of the recovery paid only when the case resolves. No recovery, no attorney’s fee. The consultation is free.
Free consultation, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. No fee unless we win. Two years to file under California law, and the evidence does not wait.