[symple_googlemap title=”” location=”Baker Street and Bear Street, Costa Mesa, CA” height=”300″ zoom=”13″]
Updated at 9:37 p.m. on Jan. 8, 2015
A 23-year-old man suffered critical head trauma Thursday when the motorcycle he was operating with a passenger on board slammed into a car in Costa Mesa.
The crash occurred about 10:30 a.m. in the 800 block of Baker Street near Bear Street, said Costa Mesa police Lt. Greg Scott.
The motorcyclist, who was riding with a 25-year-old woman, was headed east on Baker Street through Bear Street when he struck a Ford Fusion driven by 37-year-old Ryan Harkins, Scott said.
The Ford had been traveling in the opposite direction when it pulled into a two-way left-turn lane in front of the Residence Inn at 881 Baker St., Scott said.
“Harkins turned left from the two-way left turn lane and proceeded across eastbound lanes of Baker Street, resulting in the motorcyclist forcefully impacting the passenger side of Harkins’ Fusion,” Scott said.
A nurse who was nearby administered CPR on the 23-year-old until paramedics arrived to render additional medical care and take him to Western Medical Center in Santa Ana, where he was listed in critical condition, Scott said.
The woman was taken to the same hospital, where she was treated for a bruised chin and abrasions to both arms, Scott said, adding that she was to remain at the hospital overnight for monitoring. Both victims are from Huntington Beach, he said.
Harkins was not injured. He stopped after the crash and cooperated with investigators, who released him after finding no evidence of impairment, Scott said.
The crash remains under investigation.
— City News Service