Local News in Brief : Irvine : Costa Mesa Cyclist Dies in Freeway Crash
A 20-year-old Costa Mesa man was killed Monday when he lost control of his speeding motorcycle on the Santa Ana Freeway in Irvine and slid under the wheels of a trailer pulled by a dump truck, authorities said.
J. Michael Porterfield, who was merging from the Laguna Freeway to the southbound Santa Ana Freeway when the 6:50 a.m. accident occurred, was pronounced dead at the scene, California Highway Patrol spokesman Paul Caldwell said. Porterfield was wearing a helmet at the time of the accident.
The crash backed up early-morning, southbound commute traffic to Santa Ana for almost two hours, Caldwell said.
Truck driver Jeffrey A. Gout, 24, of Glendora veered in trying unsuccessfully to avoid the motorcyclist, then struck a tractor-trailer rig driven by Christopher W. Sandberg, 44, of Glendora, Caldwell said.
Neither truck driver was cited or injured in the accident, Caldwell said.
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