North Hollywood man suffers minor injuries from 134 crash

A 25-year-old North Hollywood man escaped with only minor scrapes and bruises after his motorcycle struck another vehicle and caught fire, prompting a Sigalert for about 30 minutes on the westbound Ventura (134) Freeway around 11 a.m. today, officials said.

California Highway Patrol Officer Kevin Denmon said the motorcyclist was “splitting traffic” between the No. 1 and 2 lanes and attempting to pass a white BMW that was traveling ahead of him in the carpool lane.

Witnesses said the motorcyclist, whose name was not immediately available, was traveling more than 70 mph, Denmon said.

“For an unknown reason, the motorcyclist lost control and struck the BMW when he was trying to pass it,” Denmon said. “He was ejected, he went to the ground and the motorcycle slid along the traffic lanes and caught on fire. It was totaled.”

The motorcyclist sustained some minor scrapes and bruises, and was transported to Providence St. Joseph Medical Center. The driver and passenger of the BMW were not injured, Denmon said.

A Sigalert was issued at 11:15 a.m., which shut down the carpool and two left lanes, before being lifted about 30 minutes later, Denmon said.

A woman on the freeway, Jennifer Gonzalez (@_jenngonzalez), was able to get a photo of the motorcycle when it was on fire, and Tweeted that “he walked away, helmet on and all.”

-- Maria Hsin, Times Community News

Twitter: @mariahsin