Car Runs Over, Kills Fallen Motorcyclist

A41-year-old Chatsworth man, reportedly despondent over a friend’s cancer, was killed early Tuesday when he fell from his speeding motorcycle and was run over by a car whose driver then fled, a California Highway Patrol spokesman said.

John Martin died instantly from head and abdominal injuries he suffered in the 12:50 a.m. accident on the eastbound Simi Valley Freeway just west of Sepulveda Boulevard in Mission Hills, said CHP officer Eugene Jones.

Martin was going at least 80 m.p.h. when his motorcycle wobbled and spun out of control, sending him into the path of a speeding white 1977 Pontiac Le Mans, Jones said. The car did not stop after the accident. Witnesses told CHP officers that Martin appeared to be racing with the car.

The crash sheared off one of the car’s license plates, allowing investigators to trace the car’s owner, Fortino Delgadillo of San Fernando. Delgadillo denied being in the car at the time of the crash, Jones said.

Friends told authorities that Martin was depressed because a friend has cancer. He had been drinking with friends shortly before the crash, Jones said.