A motorcyclist who was run over and killed after he collided with a car on Interstate 15 in Temecula and was ejected onto the freeway was identified Thursday as a 45-year-old Aguanga resident.
Roger Whitaker was fatally injured about 8:50 a.m. Wednesday on northbound I-15, just north of the exit to Winchester Road.
According to the California Highway Patrol, Whitaker was driving his 2015 Yamaha FJR about 75 mph in the slow lane when a 17-year-old Temecula boy at the wheel of a 2014 Toyota Prius changed lanes in front him.
Officer Harvey Ray said the motorcyclist didn’t have time to brake for the slower-moving vehicle and clipped the left rear bumper, causing the rider to lose control and tumble off of his bike — landing directly in the path of a pickup truck that ran over him.
The driver, whose whereabouts remain unknown, continued without stopping, Ray said.
He said the Prius driver struck a 2017 Honda Accord immediately after the motorcycle hit his car. Neither the teenager or the driver of the Honda, identified only as a 44-year-old Temecula woman, were injured.
Riverside County Fire Department paramedics arrived moments later and pronounced Whitaker dead at the scene.
Anyone with information about the collision or the pickup was asked to contact the CHP’s Temecula office at (951) 506-2000.
[symple_googlemap title=”I-15 Motorcycle Death” location=”I-15 and winchester road, temecula, ca” height=”300″ zoom=”15″]
–City News Service