Aggressive, angry driving caused a multi-car freeway crash Monday afternoon on Interstate 10 about 45 miles east of San Bernardino, California. Ten people were hospitalized in what Cal Fire called a “mass casualty incident,” according to a Desert Sun news report.

As many as eight cars piled up in the chain-reaction accident, which occurred around 2:40 p.m. near Whitewater. At least one vehicle rolled over and another crossed the center median, the California Highway Patrol said. One person was trapped in a vehicle and had to be cut out by firefighters.

It all started when one driver cut off another driver. The driver who was cut off told authorities he then honked his horn and then the first car “swerved back hard and started” the pile-up. The CHP said the driver who swerved apparently lost control of his vehicle and slid across the eastbound lanes and the center median over to the westbound side of the freeway.

At least 1,500 people are injured — or killed — each year in the United States as a result of aggressive driving, according to the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The Department of Transportation estimates that aggressive driving — or road rage — may be a factor in 50 percent of car accidents.

The trial attorneys at Blackman Legal Group, a California-based law firm founded by renowned trial attorney Clifford Blackman, have been representing injury victims since 1976, and have special expertise in cases involving catastrophic injuries .  The nationwide toll-free number to call for a free consultation is 1-866-692-8126.