CHP Motor Sgt fatally struck on I-15 by reckless driver

LAKE ELSINORE — A California Highway Patrol motorcycle officer was struck and killed while working along the side of the southbound I-15 near Nichols Rd., just north of Lake Elsinore earlier this afternoon, Saturday, April 6. The officer has already been identified by CHP as Sgt. Steve Licon.

Early reports from the scene and a CHP incident log indicate the officer was fatally hit by a reckless driver who other motorists reported had been swerving in and out of the lanes of traffic and had been passing other vehicles along the right-side shoulder, when they slammed into the officer, his motorcycle, and another vehicle. Footage filmed from the scene showed the destroyed motorcycle crushed between two dark-colored sedans.

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CHP and other emergency personnel were first alerted to the deadly collision shortly before 4:30 p.m., when multiple witnesses reported that a black sedan crashed into a CHP motorcycle officer. 911 callers reported several good Samaritans had pulled over and were trying to render aid to the critically injured officer.

The injured Sgt., who worked out of CHP’s Riverside Area office, was airlifted to nearby Inland Valley Regional Medical Center in Wildomar, where he succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced deceased.

CHP Motor Sgt. Steve Licon was killed this afternoon when he was struck by a reckless driver near Lake Elsinore. CHP photo

As stunned officers began investigating the death of one of their own officers, they called for the temporary closure of the southbound lanes of the freeway and issued a SigAlert for the area.

Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire spokeswoman Tawny Cabral later reported a total of three people were injured in the deadly crash and all were taken to IVRMC for treatment. She did not speciy the nature or extent of the other victims’ injuries.

The Riverside County District Attorney’s Office and Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner’s Office are assisting CHP in their investigation, which was active and ongoing at the scene as of this report.

Contact the writer: [email protected]

Trevor Montgomery, 47, moved last year 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 15 – but soon to be 16 – grandchildren.

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