Motorcyclist Dies Following Murrieta Head-On Crash

MURRIETA, CA — A man who is accused of fleeing from police on a Temecula Valley freeway and then heading onto Murrieta surface streets has died following a crash, officials confirm to Patch. The man died after being rushed to the hospital Sunday evening.

It all started around 5:15 p.m. Sunday as the man was headed northbound on Interstate 15 near Winchester, according to the CHP. When an officer tried to pull him over "due to the fact that the rider had been passing slower moving vehicles on the right shoulder of I-15," he apparently kept driving — onto the 215 before exiting at Los Alamos, CHP Officer Mike Lassig said.

After turning south onto Whitewood Road, the motorcyclist eventually slammed into a vehicle that was going north on the street.

"Due to his speed and failure to negotiate a curve in the road, the motorcyclist struck a Honda Accord head on just north of Blackthorne Drive," Lassig said. "As a result of the collision, the motorcyclist sustained major injuries but was conscious at the scene."

The man, identified as a 51-year old Palm Desert resident, was taken to Inland Valley Hospital where he later died, Lassig said.

A Murrieta man who was in the Honda suffered minor injuries and was taken to Loma Linda Medical Center in Murrieta for treatment.

The CHP's Temecula office is investigating the crash.

SEE PREVIOUS:

• CHP Pursuit Ends In Murrieta With Head-On Crash

— All Images By Joe Fanaselle