Crime & Safety

CHP: Alcohol May Have Led to Fatal Motorcycle Crash on 405

So Sao of Long Beach was riding up the Spring Street onramp when his bike hit a curb throwing him and his passenger onto the connector road.

Alcohol may have been a contributing factor in a crash that claimed the life of a 31-year-old motorcyclist and seriously injured his 16-year-old passenger on the San Diego (405) Freeway in Long Beach, the California Highway Patrol reported Thursday.

The crash took place on the Spring Street onramp to the northbound 405 Freeway about 10:30 p.m. Wednesday, according to CHP Officer Francisco Villalobos.

The motorcyclist, So Sao of Long Beach, was riding his 2006 Suzuki GSX-R up the Spring Street onramp near Cherry Avenue when his bike hit a curb as he made a turn to the left, according to the CHP.

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The force of the collision threw Sao and the teenage boy riding with him off the bike and onto the connector road. The bike slid along the road, caught fire and became fully engulfed, according to the CHP.

Sao and his rider were both wearing helmets and were transported to Long Beach Memorial Hospital by paramedics. Sao was pronounced dead at the hospital. His rider was hospitalized with moderate injuries.

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According to the investigating CHP officer, “alcohol impairment may have been a factor” in the crash, which shut three northbound lanes on the 405 Freeway for more than an hour, according to the CHP.

--City News Service, photo via Shutterstock

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