Long Beach : CHP Looks for Witnesses to Fatal Motorcycle Accident
The California Highway Patrol is looking for witnesses to a fatal motorcycle accident that occurred Tuesday morning on the Artesia (91) Freeway near the Cherry Avenue off-ramp in North Long Beach.
Lyle Whittens, CHP public affairs officer, said the accident occurred at 8:45 a.m. when a black male, 51, was riding his 1986 Honda Interstate motorcycle westbound in the fast lane. “For some unknown reason,” Whittens said, “his motorcycle went down.” He was not wearing a helmet, Whittens said.
The man was thrown into the next lane, Whittens said, and was run over by a pickup truck driven by a Long Beach man. That man was not charged in the accident, he said.
The motorcyclist was taken to Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, where he died two hours later, Whittens said.
The identity of the rider, who is from Inglewood, is being withheld pending notification of next of kin, Whittens said.
The Westminster office of the Highway Patrol is seeking any witnesses who saw the rush-hour accident, Whittens said. “We want to know what happened to make him lose control of the motorcycle in the first place. He may have been clipped by a car, he may have simply lost control. We need to know what happened.”
Whittens said that anybody with any information should call traffic investigating officer Geane Jungers at 598-4414 or (714) 892-4426.
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