MV man, 27, dead after high speed, solo-vehicle, SJ motorcycle crash
UPDATED: Tuesday, Sept. 4, 1:50 p.m., With witness interview and statements, photos from the scene.
SAN JACINTO — Authorities are investigating a single-vehicle motorcycle crash that killed a motorcycle rider early Tuesday morning, Sept. 4. Authorities say excessive speed was a possible contributing factor in the deadly crash that happened on W. Ramona Expressway near N. State Street. The man’s body was later found on Idyllwild Drive, about 500 feet east of Raintree Ln., in San Jacinto.
Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner officials later identified Alexander Ruff, 27, of Moreno Valley as the victim killed in the crash. A coroner’s release indicated Ruff was pronounced deceased at the scene of the crash at 12:59 a.m.
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Emergency personnel responded to the scene at 12:53 a.m., after receiving reports of a traffic collision involving a motorcycle that smashed into a pole, Riverside Sheriff’s Sergeant Robert Himmelberg later explained.
When officials arrived they found a wrecked motorcycle and the victim’s lifeless body nearby. “The first arriving engine company reported one motorcycle that struck a pole,” Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire spokesperson Tawny Cabral wrote in an incident report.
Paramedics determined the motorcyclist had already succumbed to his injuries and he was pronounced deceased at the scene.
Deputies from the San Jacinto Police Station began investigating the crash and determined Ruff had been riding a Honda CBR 900 motorcycle eastbound at high-speed.
“The motorcycle failed to negotiate a curve and ran off the road to the right where it struck several fixed objects,” Himmelberg explained.
A woman who witnessed the deadly crash but did not want to be identified later told Nathan Wilking of RVCNews she was driving in the right lane on Ramona Expressway approaching State St. when she heard a motorcyclist approaching fast on her left side.
The woman said the motorcycle was going “maybe around 80 mph.”
“When I was slowing down the bike crossed in front of me and smashed into a pole,” the witness explained. “I seen a big cloud of smoke but I didn’t see where the motorcyclist went.”
After witnessing the crash, the driver said she pulled over, called 911, and ran back to where the motorcyclist hit the pole and began searching for the man.
“I seen a pole that was bent and lying down so I assumed that he was somewhere close by the pole, but I couldn’t find him,” said the witness.
The man’s body was later found on another nearby street, some distance from the scene of the impact.
“How did this guy hit this pole and land way down the street somewhere when I actually seen the whole thing that happened,” the woman later asked, saying, “It just don’t make sense.”
Authorities have not ruled out alcohol or drug intoxication as possible contributing factors in the deadly crash and San Jacinto PD’s investigation is active and ongoing.
Anyone with additional information regarding this investigation or who witnessed the crash and has not provided a statement to authorities is encouraged to contact Deputy Cox at the San Jacinto Police Department at (951) 487-7352. Callers can refer to incident file number I182470005 and can remain anonymous. Citizens may also submit a tip using the Sheriff’s CrimeTips online form.
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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 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.
Trevor’s assignments included Corrections, Patrol, DUI Enforcement, Boat and Personal Water-Craft based Lake Patrol, Off-Road Vehicle Enforcement, Problem Oriented Policing Team, and Personnel/Background Investigations. He finished his career while working as a Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Investigator and was a court-designated expert in child abuse and child sex-related crimes.
Trevor has been married for more than 28 years and was a foster parent to more than 60 children over 13 years. He is now an adoptive parent and his “fluid family” includes 13 children and 14 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.