MURRIETA, CA — The first day of June was tragic on Winchester Road. A 30-year-old motorcyclist was killed and so was a 17-year-old teenager. They died in separate vehicle crashes, but preliminary investigations show the causes of the wrecks were the same: disobeying traffic signals.
The first crash involving a motorcycle and compact car was reported at 4:08 a.m. Thursday at the intersection of Winchester and Frontage roads in Murrieta.
When first responders got to the scene, they found the motorcyclist, later identified as 30-year-old Eric Carmona, unresponsive with life-threatening injuries. He was sent to an area hospital but was pronounced dead by emergency room physicians, according to the Murrieta Police Department.
Find out what's happening in Murrietawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
A preliminary police report indicated that Carmona, who was heading south on Winchester Road, failed to obey the intersection’s traffic signal and plowed into the compact’s driver’s side.
The 19-year-old car driver was heading east through the intersection on a green light, police reported.
Find out what's happening in Murrietawith free, real-time updates from Patch.
“Evidence suggests the primary collision factor to be disregarding a traffic signal,” according to Murrieta police.
The compact driver sustained minor injuries, police reported.
The Murrieta Police Department’s Traffic Bureau is conducting a full investigation into the crash. Anyone with information about the incident and who has not been contacted by a Murrieta Police officer or investigator is asked to contact Murrieta Police Traffic Investigator Andrew Morse at 951-461-6845 or [email protected] or Traffic Bureau Sergeant Steve Whiddon at 951-461-6323 [email protected].
On Thursday night, another fatal wreck was reported on Winchester Road.
Around 9 p.m., Cal Fire/Riverside County Fire Department and the California Highway Patrol were called to the intersection of Winchester and Keller roads in Winchester regarding a two-vehicle crash.
Click Here: spain rugby shirts
A GMC Sierra had broadsided a Nissan Titan in the intersection, according to CHP Officer Mike Lassig.
A CHP preliminary investigation revealed that the Nissan, driven by an 18-year-old Murrieta man, was heading east on Keller Road toward Winchester Road. The Sierra was heading north on Winchester and ran a red light, smashing into the Nissan in the intersection, Lassig reported.
Giovanna Rizzo, 17, of Murrieta was the Nissan’s right-front passenger. She was killed in the crash, according to the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner’s Bureau.
The Nissan driver and his other passenger — his teen sister — had to be airlifted to a local hospital for emergency treatment. An update on their condition was not available.
The 30-year-old Winchester man behind the GMC wheel was transported to a local hospital with severe injuries, Lassig said.
Alcohol and/or drugs are not believed to be crash factors; instead, the preliminary cause was failure to obey the traffic signal, Lassig said.
No arrests were reported.
The CHP is overseeing the investigation.
Any witnesses are asked to contact the CHP Temecula Area Office at 951-506-2000.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.