Girl, 15, Is Killed as Motorcycle, Truck Collide in Normal Heights
A teen-age motorcycle rider was killed early Saturday morning when she and her companion collided with a pickup truck whose driver fled the scene in Normal Heights.
Michelle Lee Markee, 15, died of multiple trauma after she was thrown from the back of the motorcycle about 5:15 a.m. She was also hit by a car and dragged about 60 feet near the 3500 block of Adams Ave., Police Sgt. Jim Long said.
The driver of the motorcycle, 18-year-old Sonny Fitzgerald, suffered leg and back burns and was in critical condition at UC San Diego Medical Center.
Police said the driver of the pickup truck abandoned the vehicle and fled the scene. John J. Johnson, 26, was arrested and booked on suspicion of manslaughter and felony hit-and-run, Long said.
The driver of the second car that struck Markee also fled the scene, police said, and officials were still searching for him.
Neither of the victims, both of whom lived in the Normal Heights area, were wearing helmets, officials said.
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