Motorcyclists Who Died In San Diego-Area Traffic Crashes ID'd

SAN DIEGO, CA — Authorities publicly identified two motorcyclists who died this week in separate San Diego-area traffic crashes.

The first of the two accidents claimed the life of 54-year-old Bert Gallegos of Ramona, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner's Office.

Gallegos was riding a 2022 Harley-Davidson Road Glide to the north on Old Highway 80 in Jacumba about 5:45 p.m. Monday when the driver of an oncoming 2014 Toyota Corolla made a left turn directly in his path in an attempt to pull in to a driveway at Golden Acorn Casino, the California Highway Patrol reported.

The resulting collision hurled Gallegos onto the roadway, gravely injuring him. He died at a helicopter landing pad at the casino as paramedics were preparing to airlift him to a hospital, according to the medical examiner.

The driver of the car, a 78-year-old Imperial County woman, suffered minor injuries in the crash, the CHP reported.

The second motorcycle fatality took place shortly after 12:30 p.m. Wednesday, when 23-year-old Makenna Hruska of San Diego lost control of her eastbound 2023 Kawasaki two-wheeler on Clairemont Mesa Boulevard in Clairemont, sending it crashing into a center-divider curb and a tree near Genesee Avenue, according to police.

Paramedics took Hruska to Sharp Memorial Hospital in Serra Mesa, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

— City News Service