A motorcyclist was critically injured when his bike slammed into a pickup truck that turned in front of him at a Menifee intersection, authorities said Wednesday.
The collision happened shortly after 10 p.m. Tuesday at Daily and Scott roads, according to the Menifee Police Department.
Agency spokesman Chase Coburn said the motorcyclist, identified only as a 46-year-old Paramount man, was traveling eastbound at an unconfirmed speed on Scott Road aboard his BMW motorcycle when he encountered a Toyota pickup going westbound.
The Toyota driver, identified by police only as a 65-year-old Menifee resident, initiated a left turn onto Daily, apparently not catching sight of the motorcycle as it approached from the opposite direction.
“The rider … crashed into the truck and was thrown from the motorcycle,” Coburn said.
The pickup driver, who wasn’t injured, immediately stopped and waited for police.
Riverside County Fire Department paramedics arrived within minutes and found the motorcyclist in the roadway with “severe injuries,” Coburn said. The victim was taken to a regional trauma center, where the police spokesman said he remained under intensive care Wednesday. It was unknown whether he would survive.
Officers questioned the pickup driver but did not arrest him.
“The primary collision factor is still under investigation,” Coburn said. “Alcohol or drugs do not appear to have contributed to the crash.”
Anyone with information about the accident was asked to contact the police Traffic Bureau at 951-723-1566.