Oceanside Man Killed In Motorcycle Crash

OCEANSIDE, CA – A motorcyclist was killed and a woman riding with him was seriously injured when the two-wheeler struck the back of a pickup truck on Interstate 8 in El Cajon, authorities said Tuesday.

The crash happened at 6:06 p.m. Monday on the eastbound I-8, just east of El Cajon Boulevard, California Highway Patrol public-affairs Officer Travis Garrow said. Witnesses reported the 2016 Harley Davidson was speeding as it approached slower traffic, including a 2015 Toyota Tacoma traveling about 55 mph in one of the freeway's middle lanes, he said.

"For reasons still under investigation, the rider of the Harley Davidson allowed his motorcycle to (collide with) the rear of the Toyota, which caused him and his passenger to be ejected off the motorcycle," Garrow said. "Both the rider and passenger of the motorcycle landed in the eastbound traffic lanes with major injuries."

The motorcyclist, a 55-year-old Oceanside man whose name was withheld pending family notification, was taken to Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, where he died of his injuries on Monday night, Garrow said.

His passenger, a 30-year-old woman from Summerville, South Carolina, was taken to Scripps Mercy Hospital in San Diego for treatment of major injuries.

The 35-year-old San Diego man driving the Tacoma was apparently unhurt.

CHP investigators were still probing the cause of the crash, Garrow said, and have not ruled out alcohol or drugs as potential factors.

By City News Service / Image via Shutterstock