SIMI VALLEY : Motorcyclist Dies After Hitting Truck

A Lancaster man was killed in Simi Valley on Thursday afternoon when his motorcycle overturned as he drove on Lysander Avenue and skidded into an oncoming pickup truck, authorities said.

The motorcyclist was not wearing a helmet, Simi Valley Police Officer Brian C. Chandler said.

Thomas George Christensen, 31, was pronounced dead at 2:40 p.m. in the emergency room of Simi Valley Hospital, Deputy Coroner Mitch Breese said. An autopsy will be performed today, but head trauma was listed as the preliminary cause of death, Breese said.

Police identified Christensen as a Simi Valley resident, but his family told investigators that he had been in the city for just three days, Breese said.

The accident occurred just after 1 p.m. as Christensen drove south in the 2100 block of Lysander, Chandler said. His motorcycle overturned and skidded into a truck driven by William Daniells, 75, he said.