An autopsy was pending Monday on a 66-year-old motorcyclist who was killed when he crashed on the Ortega (74) Highway west of Lake Elsinore.
Christopher McCartney of Tustin was fatally injured about 11:15 a.m. Saturday on the eastbound 74, roughly two miles west of Grand Avenue, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officer Mike Lassig said McCartney was riding his 2014 Triumph motorcycle at an undetermined speed when he “approached a right-hand curve in the roadway.”
“For unknown reasons, he failed to safely negotiate the curve and traveled off the road, striking the mountainside,” Lassig said. “He was ejected off of his motorcycle, causing major injuries.”
No other vehicles were involved.
Riverside County Fire Department paramedics reached the location less than 20 minutes later and pronounced McCartney dead at the scene.
It was unknown whether alcohol or drugs may have been factors in the crash.
Anyone with information was asked to contact the CHP’s Temecula office at 951-466-4300.