Last Updated on January 20, 2022 by CCAR Staff
A motorcyclist speeding on an allegedly stolen bike was killed Thursday after being ejected in a head-on crash with a car in West Hills, authorities said.
Aerial footage showed the rider reportedly traveling at speeds as high as 115 mph down Roscoe Boulevard but slowing to around 80 mph before colliding into a car making a left turn at Fallbrook Avenue.
Police could not confirm how fast they were going.
The motorcyclist flew about 100 feet over the car before landing on the sidewalk.
The Los Angeles Police Department had put out a broadcast about a stolen motorcycle in the San Fernando Valley area earlier in the day. A police helicopter was the closest to the scene and began tracking the rider after spotting them around 1 p.m., according to Officer Melissa Podany, a spokesperson for the department.
Police were not chasing the motorcyclist when the crash occurred, she said, because there was no immediate ground support available and because of safety concerns.
“Typically we don’t pursue motorcycles because of how fast they can accelerate and the dangers that poses,” Podany said.
It was unclear exactly where police first encountered the rider.
Christopher Lussier, who lives near the crash, noted that Roscoe Boulevard runs slightly downhill.
“This apparently is a good place to accelerate, in a long straightaway with four lanes wide,” he told an OC Hawk videographer.
The rider was pronounced dead by paramedics at about 1:15 p.m. Two other people who were in the maroon sedan that was struck were treated for unspecified injuries at the scene in the 22800 block of West Roscoe Boulevard.
Police had not released any information on the rider as of late Thursday afternoon.
This is NOT WHAT WE WANT TO SEE! A rider in pursuit had a MASSIVE traffic collision right now! #breaking pic.twitter.com/4FjU43BUuT — PolicePursuitUpdates (@PursuitUpdate) January 20, 2022
