A motorcycle crash on Highway 74 near Devil's Ladder Trail killed one person and left another with serious injuries Sunday morning, prompting a temporary shutdown of the mountain highway in both directions. The second rider was airlifted to a hospital for treatment, while the first was pronounced dead at the scene.
According to KESQ, authorities were dispatched to the scene around 9:15 a.m. following reports of a single-motorcycle crash. A separate feed tracked by chpfatal.com logged the collision slightly earlier, at 9:07 a.m., describing it as a solo motorcycle traffic collision involving two occupants. The discrepancy in timing is minor, but it underscores how fast-moving and fragmented the initial reporting on highway crashes can be.
NBC Palm Springs reported that deputies pronounced one victim dead at the scene near Devil's Ladder Trail, while the second victim was airlifted to a nearby hospital. KESQ's account matches that outcome, noting that the person suffered major injuries and was flown out for treatment after the crash.
Conflicting Details on What Caused the Crash
Exactly what caused the motorcycle to go down remains unsettled. KESQ reported that initial reports indicated the motorcycle may have struck an animal, but authorities had not confirmed whether an animal was involved in the crash. The CHP feed tracked by chpfatal.com, however, stated flatly that the motorcycle collided with a deer that flew off the roadway. Hoodline is presenting both versions because the record is not conclusive on this point.
There is also a discrepancy over where exactly the crash happened. While KESQ and NBC Palm Springs placed the collision near Devil's Ladder Trail, a Riverside County Sheriff's Office coroner release listed the location of both the death and injury as the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway Exit in Palm Springs. That same release named the Palm Springs Police Department as the agency investigating. The identities of the two people involved have not been released, according to KESQ.
Highway Reopened After Hours-Long Closure
Highway 74 was temporarily closed in both directions as emergency crews responded to the scene and investigated the crash, KESQ reported, and the roadway has since reopened to traffic. Closures like this are not unusual on the winding mountain route: a June collision involving two motorcycles and a vehicle on State Route 74 near Carrizo Road triggered a hard closure between Pinyon and Bighorn, according to chpfatal.com, with traffic later escorted through one lane at a time before the intersection reopened by 7:49 p.m. that evening.
A Stretch of Road With a Troubled History
Sunday's crash adds to a string of recent incidents along the same corridor. Just a week earlier, a motorcyclist was rushed to a trauma center after crashing into a vehicle south of El Cariso, per mynewsla.com, in a crash reported around 9:40 a.m. near the intersection of Highway 74 and Tenaja Truck Trail. And in August, a motorcyclist was killed in a crash along Highway 74 on a Saturday morning, KESQ reported separately, with the motorcycle found in the roadway near mile marker 88 while the rider was located on the other side of the guardrail.
Wildlife has also factored into other recent close calls on the highway. A Dodge Durango and a deer collided on a Friday morning near Devil's Ladder, at mile marker 70 east of Anza, according to patch.com, and the deer was injured, though it was not immediately disclosed if the animal had perished. Statewide, 583 motorcyclists were killed in crashes on California roads in 2023, a 10.2 percent decrease from the 649 motorcyclists killed in 2022, according to the California Office of Traffic Safety.
No further details on the cause of Sunday's crash or the condition of the surviving rider have been released. Hoodline will update this story as more information becomes available.
