A motorcycle rider was killed Saturday afternoon in a crash with a black SUV near Hemet, according to a California Highway Patrol incident log, which also noted that one of two riders was in a nearby field and the other was down in the traffic lanes. The collision happened around 4:30 p.m. near the intersection of Stetson Avenue and Lake Street, in the Valle Vista area southeast of Hemet.
The crash was first reported by MyNewsLA.com, which said at least one motorcycle rider died but that it was unclear which rider died or what caused the crash. The outlet also reported that it was unclear whether anyone inside the SUV was hurt.
According to the CHP fatality log tracked by chpfatal.com, the crash was logged as a vehicle-versus-motorcycle collision involving a black Lincoln SUV. The log noted two riders were on the motorcycle, with one in a field and the other down in the lanes of traffic — details attributed to a witness who spoke with CHP. It remains unclear which of the two riders died.
Stetson Avenue Shut Down for Investigation
Per the same CHP log, responders requested a closure at Stetson Avenue and Soboba Street, with an additional unit posted at Fairview Avenue. The seed report described the closure as stretching along Stetson Avenue between Soboba Street and Fairview Avenue while investigators worked the scene. How long the closure lasted was not specified.
No further details on the cause of the crash were available as of Saturday night, and the identity of the person killed had not been released.
A Familiar Stretch of Road for Fatal Crashes
This is not the first fatal motorcycle crash to hit the Hemet area this year. In May, 28-year-old Rheanna Granado of San Jacinto was killed in a motorcycle crash near Kirby and Cyprus streets in Hemet, according to Patch. Police said Granado was pronounced dead at the scene after her motorcycle left the roadway shortly after 3:30 p.m., and that no other vehicles appeared to be involved.
Motorcycle deaths have remained a persistent problem across California even as overall numbers have eased slightly. The California Office of Traffic Safety reported that 583 motorcyclists were killed on California roads in 2023, a 10.2% drop from 649 in 2022 but still almost 19% higher than the 491 killed in 2019.
Speed and Broadside Collisions Drive Statewide Toll
Statewide, the numbers tell a grim story about how these crashes tend to happen. The Safe Transportation Research and Education Center at UC Berkeley found that 6,335 motorcyclists died nationwide in 2023, including the 583 in California, even as fatalities nationally rose 1.3% while California's dropped over the same period.
Unsafe speed was the most common factor cited in California's fatal and serious-injury motorcycle crashes in 2023, present in 28.2% of cases, and broadside collisions were the most frequent crash type, making up 31.1%, per the research center. The center also found that nearly three-quarters of fatal motorcycle crashes in California happened in urban areas, with the remaining 27% occurring on rural roads.
