UPDATE: Local man killed in McArthur motorcycle crash remembered for “great big heart, enthusiasm for life”

UPDATED: Thursday, Sept. 27, 7 p.m., With additional details and GoFundMe link

Original story: Local man ID’d after motorcycle smashes into McArthur utility pole

 

MCARTHUR — A local man riding an off-road motorcycle died Monday evening, Sept. 24, when he failed to negotiate a curve on SR-299 and his motorcycle smashed into a utility pole just west of McArthur Farm Supply Inc.

According to at least one witness, the motorcyclist was traveling about 100 mph when he lost control and his motorcycle left the roadway and smashed nearly head-on into the pole, killing the victim instantly.

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Officials today identified 25-year-old, Dylan D. Sudtell, of Fall River Mills, as the motorcyclist killed in last night’s crash. According to his family, Sudtell was engaged to be married to Emily McLaughlin of McArthur, was an Equipment Technician at Dicalite Minerals Corp., and left behind an 8-month-old son, Henry.

“He was a wonderful man and father and will be missed by so many people,” McLaughlin told SCNS after Sudtell’s tragic death. “Life without him will not be the same.”

California Highway Patrol and other emergency personnel were dispatched to the 44000 block of SR-299 just after 7:10 p.m., after receiving multiple reports of a motorcycle that crashed into a utility pole.

911 callers reported the rider was down on the south side of the highway and was unresponsive. One caller reported to emergency dispatchers that the motorcycle had been going as fast as 100 mph when it left the roadway and slammed into the pole. The impact caused Sudtell’s 2016 Yamaha to careen into a nearby canal south of the highway, where it was later found submerged under water.

When officials arrived at the scene they found Sudtell had already succumbed to major traumatic injuries and he was pronounced deceased at the scene, according to CHP and other sources.

CHP later reported that during their crash investigation they determined Sudtell was riding his motorcycle eastbound on SR-299 when he failed to negotiate a sweeping left-hand curve in the highway and smashed at high-speed into the utility pole.

“Dylan was a man that had a great enthusiasm for life and loved to live his life to the fullest,” Sudtell’s grieving family explained on a GoFundMe fundraiser created to help  raise necessary funds to offset burial costs and other expenses. “He had a great big heart and the people in his life he loved wholeheartedly.”

After its first day the fundraiser had raised more than $4,000.

Alcohol and drug intoxication have not yet been ruled out as contributing factors in the deadly crash and CHP’s investigation is ongoing.

 

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 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.