RIVERSIDE, CA — A 35-year-old motorcyclist was struck and killed by a driver who swerved to avoid plowing into wreckage from a collision on Interstate 215 in Riverside, authorities said Tuesday.
Oscar Navarro of Phelan was fatally injured at 1:35 a.m. Monday on southbound I-215, near the University Avenue overpass, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officer Javier Navarro — no relation to the victim — said the sequence of events began roughly 10 minutes before the motorcyclist was killed, when a tractor-trailer and Nissan Frontier pickup collided on the southbound side of the freeway, "scattering crash damage across all lanes."
The semi driver, whose identity has not been confirmed, fled the scene after the collision, according to Navarro.
He said that the amount of wreckage made virtually every southbound lane, except the HOV lane, impassable.
A 2018 Mercedes-Benz SUV was in the southbound fast lane, traveling at an unconfirmed speed, when the driver came upon the wreckage. Navarro said the motorcyclist was riding his 2002 Harley-Davidson in the adjacent HOV lane and was approaching the Mercedes from behind when the latter encountered the "Nissan blocking the No. 1 and No. 2 lanes."
"The Mercedes (driver) took evasive action and veered to the left to avoid the Nissan," the CHP spokesman said. "As a result, the Mercedes collided with the Harley-Davidson. The Harley was redirected to the left and collided with the concrete center median, which caused the rider to be ejected from the motorcycle."
The Mercedes driver, whose identity was not disclosed, immediately stopped.
Riverside Fire Department paramedics reached the location within a few minutes and found Oscar Navarro in grave condition. He was taken to Riverside Community Hospital, where he died less than a half-hour later.
The Nissan pickup driver, also not identified, suffered unspecified minor injuries. The party's status Tuesday couldn't be verified. The Mercedes driver was not hurt.
No further details were disclosed regarding the trucker, or who may have been at fault for causing the initial wreck.
Anyone with information relevant to the investigation was asked to contact the CHP Riverside office at 951-324-7210.
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