SAN JACINTO: Motorcyclist injured in head-on collision

SAN JACINTO – A motorcyclist was injured in a two-vehicle crash Sunday, May 7. The head-on accident happened in a residential neighborhood at the intersection of Savory Lane and Avena Way southwest of N. Ramona Expressway in San Jacinto.

After the accident, the motorcyclist was transported to an area hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

Deputies from the Riverside County Sheriff’s San Jacinto Police Station and other emergency first responders were dispatched to the collision about 2:45 p.m., after witnesses called 911 to report the wreck.

Several 911 callers, who had been at nearby Sky View Park when the accident happened, told emergency dispatchers a motorcycle and a Mercedes-Benz had collided head-on. Callers told emergency dispatchers the motorcyclist was ejected from his motorcycle and thrown onto the hood and into the windshield of the sedan. The rider was then thrown to the ground.

When deputies and firefighters arrived they found the victim still down on the ground. He was surrounded by witnesses and others trying to comfort him until firefighter/paramedics arrived. Some of those seen surrounding the accident scene had come from their houses after they heard the impact.

Deputies found a wrecked motorcycle in the middle of the roadway and the Mercedes Benz stopped a short distance away.

The motorcycle was heavily damaged in the crash. The sedan sustained moderate front-end damage and its windshield was crushed inwards from the impact with the motorcycle rider.

AMR Medics eventually transported the motorcyclist, who was wearing his helmet at the time of the collision, to a nearby hospital for further evaluation and treatment. Officials did not specify the nature or extent of the rider’s injuries and no further updates had been provided.

Deputies investigating the collision determined the Mercedes-Benz and the motorcyclist collided when the driver of the sedan made a sudden left turn onto Avena Way from Savory Lane, directly into the path of the oncoming rider.

The impact of the two vehicles ejected the rider from the motorcycle, sending him over his handlebars and onto the sedan.

Susan Norton, who lives near the intersection where the accident happened, later said she was one of those who called 911. She was inside her home putting away groceries when she heard the collision.

“It sounded like one big boom,” Norton said. “At first I just stood there in my kitchen because I wasn’t sure if it sounded like I crash. Then I heard my neighbors yelling to call 911 and I ran out of my house to see what happened.”

When she went outside, Norton found several of her neighbors coming out of their homes and from the nearby park to help the downed rider.

Norton, who has ridden motorcycles in the past, said the accident scene left her shaken.

“The (rider) seemed to be in a lot of pain,” Norton said. “But when I saw the damage to his wrecked bike, I was surprised he was alive at all.”

The driver of the sedan initially declined medical treatment at the scene, however he later reported having complaints of pain. It was not immediately known if the driver went to the hospital for treatment.

Deputies are still investigating the cause of the collision.

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Robert Carter/Public Safety Incidents video

 

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Trevor Montgomery runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News and Anza Valley Outlook and also writes for Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County.

Trevor spent 10 years in the U.S. Army as an Orthopedic Specialist before joining the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department in 1998. He was medically retired after losing his leg and breaking his back in an off-duty accident.

During his time with the sheriff’s department, Trevor worked at several different stations, including Robert Presley Detention Center, Southwest Station in Temecula, Hemet/Valle Vista Station, Ben Clark Public Safety Training Center and Lake Elsinore Station, along with other locations.