A motorcyclist who was fatally injured when he lost control and slammed into a guard rail while entering Interstate 15 in Temecula was identified Wednesday as a 43-year-old resident of the city.
Nicholas Almendarez died following the crash Tuesday morning on the Temecula Parkway entrance to northbound I-15, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Officer Mike Lassig said that about 10:20 a.m., Almendarez was riding his 1998 BMW R-200C in the HOV lane of the on-ramp, going roughly 45 mph, when he abruptly “applied the BMW’s brakes.”
Lassig said the application caused the motorcycle to skid sideways and “collide into the steel guard rail at the west edge of the northbound on-ramp.”
“The rider was ejected from the motorcycle,” the CHP spokesman said, adding that the victim landed on the shoulder, suffering head trauma.
No other vehicles were involved.
Riverside County Fire Department paramedics reached the location minutes later and found Almendarez in grave condition. He was taken to Inland Valley Medical Center in Wildomar, where he died a short time later.
The on-ramp was shut down for several hours while a preliminary investigation was conducted and the wrecked motorcycle was removed.
Lassig said that the crash remains under investigation, and anyone with information was asked to contact the CHP’s Temecula office at 951-506-2000.