NEWPORT BEACH : Policeman Injured in Motorcycle Crash
A motorcycle officer sustained four broken vertebrae Thursday when he collided with a motorist at an intersection, police said.
Officer Kevin Clapp, 31, was pursuing a car west on West Coast Highway about 1 p.m. when he moved into the slow lane, which had been coned off for repairs, to pass a car in front of him, Police Sgt. Andy Gonis said.
At the same time, Jeffrey Overstreet, 46, of Costa Mesa, who was also westbound on West Coast Highway, began turning right onto Superior Avenue and collided with the motorcycle officer, Gonis said.
Overstreet and Clapp were taken to Hoag Hospital in Newport Beach. Clapp sustained four compression fractures to the vertebrae and minor injuries to a knee and hand, Gonis said. Overstreet was treated for a bruised knee and released, hospital officials said.
Clapp’s Kawasaki motorcycle and Overstreet’s Cadillac each sustained moderate damage, Gonis said.
No citation was issued pending further investigation, Gonis said.
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