Anza teen killed in Monday night’s motorcycle crash ID’d

ANZA — Officials have identified a teen who died after his motorcycle and a truck collided in Anza, Monday evening, July 30. The victim was reportedly riding a motorcycle on Highway 371 without a headlight or any lighting equipment when the deadly accident happened. According to officials the crash occurred about a half mile west of Bautista Road.

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Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner officials later identified 19-year-old, Gregory Ezell, of Anza, as the victim killed in the crash. A coroner’s release indicated Ezell succumbed to his injuries about 45 minutes after the accident and he was pronounced deceased at 10:11 p.m. According to the release, Ezell died at 38660 Contreras Road, about two and a half miles from where the deadly collision happened.

California Highway Patrol, Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department, and American Medical Response were dispatched to the scene of the crash at 9:25 p.m.

Officials reportedly found the motorcycle rider had sustained major traumatic injuries and was clinging to life. A source familiar with the crash and investigation later reported Ezell may have died while being transported to an area hospital. It was not known if the victim was being transported by AMR medics or citizens.

A second victim sustained minor injuries in the collision but declined medical treatment at the scene.

According to an initial CHP report, the accident happened when Ezell’s “blacked out” motorcycle collided with a white pickup truck along the eastbound lane of the highway. It was not known if Ezell was riding his motorcycle on or across the road.

Ezell’s Facebook profile features a photo of a blue and white Yamaha off-road motorcycle, but officials have not disclosed the type of motorcycle the victim was riding at the time of the crash.

While CHP investigated the cause of the deadly accident they called for the temporary closure of Highway 371, also known as Cahuilla Road, and all traffic was diverted away from the accident scene until officials re-opened the highway several hours later.

After learning of Ezell’s tragic death, friends and those who knew and loved the victim began sending his social media pages their condolences and posting notes of their memories with him.

Saying she had just talked to him and that news of his death “doesn’t seem real,” Anza resident Victoria Anne Riley described how Ezell always made her have a smile on her face, even when she was down and said the pair shared “too many memories to count.”

Ezell was a recent graduate of Anza’s Hamilton High School, located just three miles from the scene of the crash. In his last Facebook post, he shared a picture that read, “until someone shows me they really want me, Ima jus focus on myself.” He was fatally struck less than two hours later.

 

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, recently moved to the Intermountain area of Shasta County from Riverside County and runs Riverside County News Source and Shasta County News Source. Additionally, he writes for several other news organizations, including Riverside County based newspapers, Valley News, The Valley Chronicle and Anza Valley Outlook, as well as Bonsall/Fallbrook Village News in San Diego County and The Mountain Echo in Shasta 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, breaking his back and suffering both spinal cord and brain injuries in an off-duty accident. (Click here to see segment of Discovery Channel documentary of Trevor’s 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.